Free award-winning business advice is now on your doorstep, now that a live chat service has been extended to county libraries.

Herts County Council has extended an existing partnership with the live chat providers Mi Ventures so that visitors to 10 more libraries – including those in Hitchin and Stevenage – free one-to-one business advice.

The service has been running as a pilot at Welwyn Garden City for more than a year, but now the scheme – which aims to provide an ‘instant’ portal from 9am to 5pm each weekday, is being rolled out to main library locations.

The new service is available on computers which are part of the Herts Libraries network, and is aimed at self-employed people or anyone thinking of starting up a business. By typing a question on the web chat service, users will receive an instant reply from an experienced business advisor.

Councillor Teresa Heritage, County Hall’s cabinet member for libraries, said: “This partnership demonstrates the council’s commitment to supporting business enterprise in the county.

“It is just one of the ways that our libraries use digital technology to improve the services available to Hertfordshire residents.”

Mi Ventures director Greg Thomas said: “We’re excited to be going into a further 10 libraries in Hertfordshire.

“This partnership will allow even more people living in the county to be able to easily access instant business advice from advisors whenever they need it.

“By having this easily accessible service at these libraries we hope to both support and encourage enterprise across the county and beyond.”

Last year, Mi Ventures won The Future of Enterprise Support Award at the National Enterprise Network Awards, an accolade saluting its innovative and forward-thinking .

If you’d like to make use of the service, all you have to do is pop into one of the participating libraries during normal opening hours and ask a member of staff help.

There’s also a wide range of free online and printed business information available at the Welwyn Garden City library.

To find out more about Mi Ventures visit www.miventures.co.uk, and for more on Herts libraries visit www.hertsdirect.org/services/libraries.