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 and behaviors. This guide shows how to draw from new approaches and technologies to harness experimentation as a tool for testing ideas and responding to change. It borrows ideas and inspiration from the startup sector to teach you how to take a human-centered and design thinking-based perspective on problem solving.

Coverage includes:

• why experimentation is possible on any budget and can be undertaken by anyone in any organisation.
• ways to foster a culture of experimentation which recognises the importance of incorporating curiosity into work and daily life.
• examples of experimentation from academic, public and school libraries as well as non-library settings.
• how to engage users in testing to identify the pros and cons of a prototype.
• guidance on employing IDEEA (Ideate, Design, Experiment, Engage, Assess) as a five-part process for trying out ideas by formulating prototypes.

This book is essential reading for library and information professionals who want to pioneer change and experiment in their library.

Cathryn M. Copper works at the intersection of libraries, architecture, and technology. As the Head of the Eberhard Zeidler Library at the University of Toronto, her current research explores technology and experimentation in libraries. She has spoken on the topic of experimentation at several national and international conferences including the Association of College & Research Libraries and SXSW EDU. Her talk on the use of artificial intelligence and augmented reality in libraries at SXSW EDU was featured as one of the "biggest and most pressing ideas."