Innovation in libraries: A service-oriented perspective

This article is devoted to the question of innovation in libraries. Ignored by ‘service studies’, this question occupies an important place in library and information science, but is all too often approached in a way that is factual and descriptive. Drawing on advances in service economics and management, this article adopts a perspective of the library as an ‘architectural’ or ‘assembled’ service bringing together a number of core and peripheral services, and mobilizing competences and different types of technology to collaboratively generate, utilities for the user or community. We discuss how such a representation of the product can systematically account for the full complexity of the forms and dynamics of innovation in libraries. We have thus identified and empirically illustrated three general innovation logics (horizontal, vertical and diagonal), which differ according to the components of the library service on which they act, and which operate according to different modalities, reflecting different innovation trajectories. • Innovation in libraries is ignored by ‘service and innovation studies’. • It occupies an important place in librarianship, but is approached in a way that is factual and descriptive. • There is a shift from library as collection, to library as information system and to library as architectural service. • The library brings together core and peripheral services, and mobilizes competences and technologies to generate utilities. • This representation can systematically account for the full complexity of the forms and dynamics of innovation in libraries.