Value Co-Creation and Social Innovation for a New Generation of European Libraries

Organised by the LibrarIN Project 1) Introduction to LibrarIN – rationale, aims, work The rationale for LibrarIN builds on the role of libraries as public services which are facing the varied challenges of the 21st century. Many of these challenges are shared with museums, cultural centres, galleries, and cultural institutions, such as the OECD and UNESCO, and professional associations like LIBER. These challenges include the delivery of efficient high-quality public services, and the improvement of libraries’ capacity to deal with societal challenges. The first part of the workshop will focus on the what, why and how of LibrarIN. Key terms will be explained and defined, and the aims of the project elaborated. The role of research librarians in the process of social innovations and the value co-creation of library services will be outlined. 2) Interactive session – value co-creation and innovation in your library A key aim of LibrarIN is to understand the process of value co-creation in libraries service delivery, and to evaluate the different approaches to knowledge transformation in libraries, both in terms of their processes and their impact. This interactive section of the workshop will see participants discuss their personal experiences with value co-creation and social innovation within their libraries. We will look at common challenges, opportunities and needs to determine how libraries can further their role as public services. Participants will benefit from sharing their experiences of value co-creation and social innovation in libraries, and workshop ideas that they can put into practice at their own institutions (e.g. the concept of living labs, digital services for value co-creation and methods of encouraging social entrepreneurship within libraries) 3) Wrap-up plenary Participants will join to discuss their group work and share common experiences. The workshop hopes to achieve two aims: 1. Participants are better informed about the concept of vale co-creation of library services, its benefits to the library community and wider society. 2. The LibrarIN project gains a snapshot into existing value-cocreation practices in LIBER libraries and the attitude to such activities amongst the research community