Need a fresh approach for rethinking your library program? Want to engage your learning community in the rethinking/planning process?

Look no further.  Developed by IDEO, and funded by the Global Libraries program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Design Thinking for Libraries is the inspiration you’ve been waiting for to brainstorm possibilities, reflect on the future, and develop a user/student-centered plan.

Designed to support design thinking across libraryland, the toolkit introduces

a way of working that will help you strengthen your library by understanding the needs of your patrons and engaging your communities like never before through a method that we call design thinking. Several other industries, particularly business and education, have used this people-focused approach for decades to solve problems. In this toolkit we have adapted these methods for the library setting, you will learn the steps to develop better services, tools, and experiences for your patrons.

Engaging in design thinking about your library program with students [and teachers, parents and admins] presents the ultimate local, authentic problem-solving experience and models a creative, sticky, transferable process.  Beyond those maker experiences, this process will encourage learners to adopt a designer’s mindset, as they consider transformation in three phases: Inspiration, Ideation, and Iteration.

The free, downloadable toolkit comes in two parts:

• Toolkit Guide and its accompanying Activities Workbook (for a 5-8 hour a week,  six week experience)
• At-a-Glance Guide (for a one day design thinking experience)

Here are a few sample screenshots from the Activities Workbook.

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Thanks to Shelly Buchanan for this lead!