Mediated social innovation in public libraries

Public libraries are transforming to respond to new technologies and changing societal needs for their service model to remain relevant and legitimate. While previous research has focused on the contribution of public libraries in their traditional roles (as providers of free and public access to books and information) and new roles (as community hubs, third spaces), little is known about how to understand the innovation activities of public libraries and public library innovation systems. Based on a review of the literature on public libraries as experimental settings for engaging stakeholders in shared intentions for service innovation, the chapter discusses four different innovation roles that the public library can take in social and public innovation. The chapter contributes to research on social innovation in two ways. First, by identifying key aspects of innovation in the context of public libraries, and second by exploring the public library as a special setting for social innovation that we name “mediated social innovation.”