I am sure that there are a lot more library innovation labs, but I am fascinated by the concept of offering individual library innovators’ new developments and lab product and service development activities out there for use and public or peer comment. Sharing is a good thing.
These strategies are used in the private sector by vendors and we’re seeing more in the pubic sector with libraries doing them too.
Check out these library ones:
Harvard Library Lab: Libraries need product development
http://dysartjones.com/2010/08/harvard-library-lab-libraries-need-product-development/
Harvard Library Lab
http://osc.hul.harvard.edu/liblab
DCPL Labs (DC Public Library)
http://dclibrarylabs.org/
Unversity of British Columbia Library Lab
http://www.library.ubc.ca/labs/
And this is a fairly good list site:
Directory of Experimental Library Tools
Links include:
Allen County Public Library (Fort Wayne, Indiana) ACPLib2.0
Ball State University Libraries Web Laboratory
Brown University Library Software Development and Distribution
Deakin University Library (Australia) Experimental Options
District of Columbia Library DCPL Labs
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Library Sandbox
Johns Hopkins University Library Betas
Jönköping University Library (Sweden) Library Lab
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) MIT Libaries’ Betas
National Library of Australia LibraryLabs
New York Public Library NYPL Labs RSS Updates
Ohio State University OSU Labs RSS Updates
North Carolina State University Digital Library Initiatives Projects
University of Alabama Web Laboratory RSS Updates
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign UIUC Library Labs
University of Jönköping Library Lab
University of Michigan MLibrary Labs RSS Updates
University of Minnesota Digital Library Development Lab
University of Nebraska – Lincoln BetaZone RSS Updates
University of Pennsylvania PennLabs
University of Texas LIBwidgets
University of Viriginia Library Lab
Vanderbilt University Test Pilot RSS Updates
Check out these vendor ones:
The granddaddy ‘model’ is:
Google Labs
http://www.googlelabs.com/
Other Google Labs linked from the main page include:
Calendar Labs
Latest ideas from the Calendar team
Gmail Labs
Dozens of Gmail experiments
Google Code Labs
Experimental developer products
Google Maps Labs
Experimental Maps features
Google Wave
Real-time communication and collaboration
Search Experiments
Alternate search views and more
Toolbar Labs (IE only)
Language and location-based experiments
YouTube TestTube
YouTube’s ideas incubator
Gale Labs
Gale Showcases “Gale Labs” During American Library Association Conference
Adobe Labs
http://labs.adobe.com/
OCLC launches Innovation Lab
http://www.oclc.org/nextspace/015/labs.htm
It would be great to see more. I’ve written in the past that we have an issue with od deas not difusing fast enough through library land. I worry that one source of this delay could be a reticence to share new projects before they’re ready for prime time. These labs might be the right context for sharing good ideas and projects early without the expectation of perfection.
Do you know of any more library labs (libraries or library vendors)? Tell us in the comments.
Stephen
3 Responses
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Thanks Stephen – I didn’t know there were so many labs; a great list. And notice that the public library arena has 2, or, I guess 3 if we count OCLC. Hm….. I still think there’s a role here for the agencies or even the associations to get involved for cross-sector labs. And, wouldn’t it be great if we had “accelerators” like Year One Labs in Montreal? A small core of people who mentor, push, prod & “accelerate the idea from concept to reality.
How do you define a ‘lab’?
Looking at most of these pages they’re just lists of tools. If that’s the case, then http://www.cantonpl.org/tools might constitute a lab.
I define a library lab as a place where library staff make/develop tools in their context and then share it with others for sharing, use or comment. I guess it’s hard for it to look like anything more than a list of tools. Any suggestions? I suppose it’s like the difference between a bibliography of books and a bibliography of books that you wrote.