LibrarIN boosts value co-creation and social innovation for a new generation of European libraries. The co-creation activities, which involve the Stakeholder Panel and the LibrarIN consortium, are designed to collaboratively generate ideas, develop innovative approaches, and formulate policy outcomes.
On May 8th, 2024, 15 members of the Stakeholder Panel and 14 members of the Consortium met online for the project’s first co-creation session, which focused on the library policy tracker, a key component of the LibrarIN toolkit. The tracker will visualise data on the uptake of library innovation policies across European member states. The main objective of the session was to gather the diverse insights to tailor the monitoring and benchmarking tool to the needs of library policymakers and practitioners, considering the project design.
Methodology
To harness the collective knowledge and wisdom of the session attendees, and to ensure a collaborative and inclusive environment, the following materials, tools and techniques were used:
- Pre-readings: one week before the session, the “Participant Kit” document was shared with participants. It contained the session details and provided participants readings to prepare for the workshop.
- Participant engagement: Several techniques were used to encourage participant engagement and participation such as an icebreaker, facilitated breakout rooms, and an online collaborative board with multiple pre-designed frames.
- Tech operator: in addition to the facilitators and the note takers, a tech operator was present throughout the session to ensure a smooth online workshop platform management with dedicated breakout rooms and troubleshooting.
- Data collection and documentation: each breakout room was assigned a note-taker responsible for collecting feedback and documenting key insights. To provide a comfortable space where participants could share their thoughts and comments freely, the session was not recorded.
Session outcomes
Participants offered valuable insights on a preliminary list of indicators designed to measure the adoption of library innovation policies on EU member states level. An initial voting session provided a quantitative validation of the indicators regarding their relevance, clearness and alignment with the project goals. The subsequent discussions provided qualitative feedback on the current list of indicators and their clustering, new indicators were proposed, and general issues and reflections emerged.
To tailor the dashboard’s application design to existing needs, several potential uses were identified. Such as serving as a source of inspiration and comparison, making the role and impact of libraries more visible, supporting resource negotiation, informing policy-making and political advocacy, aligning with European-level initiatives, and facilitating the (self)assessment of library services and strategies.
Next Steps
Following the co-creation session, the feedback received is being used to refine the list of indicators and dimensions. The toolkit is currently under development, and we anticipate releasing a first version in the coming months. Stay tuned!