Facilitator: Jody Hoesly
Note-taker: Danianne Mizzy
Education innovation, research innovation – How do you design new library services to align with these initiatives?
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What are effective design processes or models to design new library services?
Stanford D School
Lean Start-Up
Other models that facilitate/engage?
D2P – Design to Production
Get insight from academic program reports from departments
Process for programming and developing services, collections
Wish list of new interest programs, slow coming
Flipped classrooms
Combined science libraries – open new facility – map out spaces but services need refinement
How to keep relevant
Open source software and education
Institutional initiatives such as MOOCs, going global, etc. – library is encouraged to support and follow along after the fact
Quick wins – easy, cheap, not a lot of staff requirements
Micro to macro – bigger ideas and accomplishments
Think differently, get new perspectives
How to get cooperation and engagement from departments that are not engaged
Visioning committee – ideas for how to generate innovative ideas
Being strategic, not playing catch-up. Encroachment on library space. Perception that we are not using space well enough. Need to have a compelling plan in place that demonstrates worth before they come to repurpose your space
Many libraries going through reorganization and consolidation. No more branches, redo spaces in main library to accommodate closed branches collections, staff, services
Past – develop services in response to specific department’s or program’s needs
Harder once removed from that setting
Learn from failures but rather learn from successes
SHARE PROCEESES TO CREATE AND DESIGN AND WHAT WORKED
Ideas – can’t anticipate what response will be. Apprehension to invest resources unless ensured of an outcome. How to be sure? How do you foster more comfortable risk-taking environment? Harder to get support for a new idea if a peer institution hasn’t already done it and succeeded.
Try it for six weeks, a quarter.
Prototype Process
Small-scale pilot with low commitment needed in staff and librarian time. Adaptable software that doesn’t cost that much. Assess and scale-up.
Include in planning what happens after the pilot. Include in planning, assessment and next phase. How to move from pilot to production. Solution may need to be external. Set benchmarks that if the service reaches certain thresholds, (define success metrics in advance), this triggers the next level of support/funding.
D School Process at Stanford
Sarah Lester from Stanford shared that the D School approached the library to work with them on a visioning process for whole campus. What will the university look like x years out, how will students live. They sought out and wanted the library as part of this.
Small scale experiment, reconvene, take experiment apart, then continue or redirect.
Helen Josephine library lead.
As part of this process they are trying pop-up reference desks at different locations where students gather. For example, White Plaza which has the highest density of student gathering. Pop-up library offers localized reserve material; Kiosks – trying different locations
Also going to try pop-up publishing, creating customized collections/textbooks for classes
Iterations – wall of post-it notes
Coalesce ideas
Test
Grace Baysinger – Rapid Group – charged with investigating technology
Buy-in from directorial level that if pilot successful
Projects more subject focused
Identify campus entities that do broad-based programs (graduate professional eduction, safety – try to garner support from/partner with those offices
Broader
Get user feedback – can be lightweight one-minute surveys
Learning that a direction is not one to pursue can be its own success
DESIGN THINKING METHODS
Jody Hosely – setting up series of 5 meetings with her staff to redesign research services
One process model
Empathize – understand users at a deeper level
Defining – define the problem/user name
Ideate – brainstorming – scaffold that “Yes, and . . .”
Prototype
Test with users
How to scale it to create a wider impact
Consequences of success may require reallocation of resources to expand new service (i.e. stop doing something to free-up resources or staff – example binding journals)
Entrepreneurial process – need to remember that not all products are a huge success
How does this link to campus-level initiatives
Is there a better design for services like reference?
Move forward with new
Where do new ideas come from?
How do we know what the users really want or need?
Answers may be unreliable. Interviews of faculty and students may not yield new information.
Service needs may be different across the disciplines. Business librarian is embedded but sciences don’t have the staff to offer such a service. Hard to tell from the outset if it is too small a niche/boutique service. Try it and see.
Maybe the department could help fund an initiative. Forming deeper partnerships. Get support for graduate student staffing to help carry new services.
Core programs and services. Prioritize what is aligned and important.
Rotate content of exhibits across campus locations lessens burden to come up with exhibits. Staff at existing service points on campus.
Art & Architecture loan materials quarterly to engineering library. Internal partnership
Product design – referral across departments.
Stanford Engineering Library opportunity to do everything differently because new space where no one but support staff had ever worked together before. Painful but growth experience. If processes have outlived their usefulness, a fresh look may be needed to identify this and decide to discontinue a practice or change it.
Chaotic opportunism – somebody has money or resources – seize the opportunity. Example heard new facilities manager had end of year money. Cold called and then submitted a two page proposal for compact shelving that was funded and this laid the foundation for a new relationship with this department.
Timing of space planning can be tricky. Nature abhors a vacuum. If you clear out collections but the space stays empty too long, you might lose it. Lack of funding or clear space too early without approved and funded ideas
Challenge – librarians have to be out of the library a lot more. How do we create the structure and how do we change the way we do business (communication, meetings, etc.) to stay in synch when we are not all together physically.
FINAL TAKE-AWAYS
Embrace change and run with it.
Partnering
Being creative
Challenges – getting bigger products into production
Learn how to pitch; then put together a business plan
Innovating and expanding
How do you justify the footprint of your library – defensive planning
Map out unique services, use cases, be able back-up the current use
Set a plan in place in advance
Chaotic opportunism
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