The Innovative Library: Innovation Theory Applied to Library Services

The purpose of this paper is to organize the innovation literature - including some of the literature on innovation in libraries - into a framework for the qualitative measurement of innovation in libraries. The framework includes propensity for change, professional engagement, organizational networking, project description and organizational recognition. Some of the measures in the five groups have been used extensively in empirical research. Others are mostly derived from our theoretical considerations. To our knowledge it is the first time such an extensive model for innovation is developed. The empirical material is based on one of the most innovative business libraries in Scandinavia. This library is found to have high propensity for change, good organizational networking, medium project description and low professional engagement and organizational recognition. In 1993, this library won a prize instituted by the Norwegian Library Association to honor the best library in Norway. The framework developed here can be used in two ways : to evaluate innovation in libraries and to design innovation for them.

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