How Do Public Library Administrators Generate and Evaluate Ideas for New Services? A Proposed Model Based on Evidence from Cuyahoga County Public Library

摘要

A library’s ability to innovate remains crucial to itsrnsustained success, yet our understanding of innovation atrnthe library level is still underdeveloped. While we knowrnthat libraries (like most service providers) typicallyrninnovate through the adoption of technological andrnorganizational innovations, few attempts have been made tornconceptualize this process. After reviewing briefly thernliterature on innovation at the library level, this short paperrnreports on an exploratory case study of the generation andrnevaluation of new service ideas (i.e., service innovation’srn‘front end’) by administrators at Cuyahoga County PublicrnLibrary (CCPL) in Ohio, a public library renowned for itsrninnovativeness. From this case study a working model isrnproposed and supported with examples.