The Experimental Library: A Guide to Taking Risks, Failing Forward, and Creating Change

Libraries that experiment are better positioned to adapt to rapidly changing environments and evolving user needs. This guide teaches how to harness experimentation as a tool for testing ideas and responding to change, borrowing ideas and inspiration from the startup sector. It covers why experimentation is possible on any budget and can be undertaken by anyone, ways to foster a culture of experimentation, examples of experimentation from academic, public, and school libraries, and how to engage users in testing.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 184 pages
Publication date: 14 December 2023
Publisher: Facet Publishing

Libraries that embrace experimentation are better equipped to adapt to the ever-changing landscapes of technology, user needs, and behaviors. This comprehensive guide offers practical strategies for leveraging new approaches and technologies to facilitate experimentation as a powerful tool for testing ideas and responding to change. Drawing inspiration from the dynamic startup sector, it teaches you how to adopt a human-centered and design thinking-based perspective when addressing complex problems.

In this guide, you will discover why experimentation is accessible to libraries of all sizes and budgets, regardless of their organizational structure. You will learn how to foster a culture of experimentation that values curiosity and encourages employees to explore new ideas and approaches. Through real-world examples from academic, public, and school libraries, as well as non-library settings, you will gain insights into successful experimentation practices.

Engaging users in testing and gathering feedback is a crucial aspect of experimentation. This guide provides practical guidance on how to involve users in the evaluation of prototypes, enabling you to identify their strengths and weaknesses. Employing IDEEA (Ideate, Design, Experiment, Engage, Assess) as a five-part process, you will learn how to formulate prototypes and test out ideas in a structured and methodical manner.

Whether you are a library director, a librarian, or a library staff member seeking to innovate and drive change, this book is an indispensable resource. It provides a roadmap for embracing experimentation, equipping you with the tools and knowledge needed to lead your library into a future of continuous improvement and innovation.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781783306985