IFLA Volume 40 Number 3 October 2014 IFLA Contents Editorial National libraries as centers of innovation: An IFLA Journal 40th anniversary tribute 143 Jerry W. Mansfield Articles From inertia to innovation: Information-based organizations in the Age of Intelligence 145 Roberta I. Shaffer Innovations in the National Library Board Singapore: A journey 150 Ngian Lek Choh What makes innovation work? Innovation practice in the National Library of the Netherlands 157 Hildelies Balk, Elsbeth Kwant and Clemens Neudecker Building tomorrow’s library today: The New Library of Alexandria 169 Ismail Serageldin Qatar National Library – Architecture as innovation in the Arab world 174 Claudia Lux Bibliothe`que et Archives nationales du Que´bec: Convergence and the path of innovation 182 Guy Berthiaume and Pascale Ryan Built on sound principles: Audio management and delivery at the National Library of Australia 186 Kevin Bradley Innovation as a strategic choice at the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek 195 Reinhard Altenho¨ner, Ulrike Junger and Ute Schwens Innovative services in the National Library of China 202 Han Yongjin A case study in national library innovation: Newspapers in the British Library 206 Andy Stephens, Caroline Brazier and Phil Spence Abstracts 213 Aims and Scope IFLA Journal is an international journal publishing peer reviewed articles on library and information services and the social, political and economic issues that impact access to information through libraries. The Journal publishes research, case studies and essays that reflect the broad spectrum of the profession internationally. To submit an article to IFLA Journal please visit: http://ifl.sagepub.com IFLA Journal Official Journal of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions ISSN 0340-0352 [print] 1745-2651 [online] Published 4 times a year in March, June, October and December Editor: Stephen Parker, Apt. 1C, Edifı´cio Rosa dos Ventos, Rua Rosa Parracho 27, Cascais 2750-778, Portugal. E-mail: [email protected] Editor designate: Steve Witt, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 321 Main Library, MC – 522 1408 W. Gregory Drive, Urbana, IL, USA. Email: [email protected] Editorial Committee Rafael Ball, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany. Email: [email protected] Marı´a del Ca´rmen Dı´ez Hoyo, Agencia Espan˜ola de Cooperacio´n Internacional para el Desarrollo, Madrid, Spain. Email: [email protected] Ben Gu, National Library of China, Beijing, People’s Republic of China. Email: [email protected] Dinesh Gupta, Vardhaman Mahaveer Open University, Kota, India. Email: [email protected]/[email protected] Mahmood Khosrowjerdi, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran. Email: [email protected]/[email protected] Jerry W. Mansfield (Chair) Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress, Washington, DC. Email: [email protected] Ellen Ndeshi Namhila (Governing Board Liaison) University of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia. Email: [email protected] Stephen Parker (Portugal) (Editor, ex officio) Email: [email protected] Omnia M. Sadek, Menufia University, Cairo, Egypt. Email: [email protected] Re´jean Savard, E´cole de bibliothe´conomie et des sciences de l’information, Universite´ de Montre´al, Montre´al, Canada. Email: [email protected] Ludmila Tikhonova, Russian State Library, Moscow, Russian Federation. 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Postmaster: Send address corrections to IFLA Journal, c/o Mercury Airfreight International Ltd, 365 Blair Road, Avenel, NJ 07001, USA. Please visit http://ifl.sagepub.com and click on More about this journal, then Abstracting/indexing, to view a full list of databases in which this journal is indexed. Printed by Henry Ling Ltd, Dorset, Dorchester, UK. IFLA Editorial International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions 2014, Vol. 40(3) 143–144 National libraries as centers ª The Author(s) 2014 th Reprints and permission: of innovation: An IFLA Journal 40 sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0340035214546986 anniversary tribute ifla.sagepub.com Jerry W. Mansfield National libraries capture and preserve the memory of improve efficiency, cut down waste, to promote nations, all the while maintaining a position in the services in the digital age and much more. present and the future. Their missions include the pre- In this issue the stage is set with a mentally stimu- servation of the national memory and culture of a lating piece that introduces readers to the processes of nation. They have an obligation to educate. They fos- collaborative innovation in organizations that moves ter national development and publish the cultural us from inertia to innovation (Shaffer/USA). As we heritage. National libraries serve as the recognized see in papers from Singapore (Lek Choh) and The repository of a nation’s publications. They strive to Netherlands (Balk et al.), many of the steps in the preserve knowledge and experiences in conventional innovation process introduced by Shaffer are put into and digital formats. practice. Creative minds are joined to solve national Many national libraries are museums. They pro- library and library consumer needs. vide a valuable public service function to their coun- We also feature two Middle Eastern libraries try and other researchers, tourists, and the curious of (Serageldin/Egypt) and Lux (Qatar) that highlight the world. While preserving the past, they must also how the architecture of their buildings lends itself to be forward thinking and embrace innovation, for it innovation and discovery. Yet another innovative is innovation that moves us forward. architectural concept is the creation of a Third Place In addition to this historical/cultural/educational in a national library (Berthiaume and Ryan/Que´bec). mandate, national libraries must be at the leading edge Digitization is also a predominant theme in several of change. They need to be fortune tellers to see the papers. Digitizing and archiving voice as part of oral future; to envision where they will be in 10, 20, even history preservation (Bradley/Australia), preserving 30 years hence. They understand that nothing endures and conserving digital media and at-risk objects but change, even if it is change to preserve the past. (Altenho¨ner et al./Germany), and the creation of digi- Their ideas and practices ultimately transcend bor- tal libraries of mass scale housing ancient books ders. They serve as models for innovation and change. (Yongchin/China). From the articles in this issue you will learn that inno- We close this 40th anniversary special issue with a vation and flexibility are important survival criteria. look at a futuristic storage solution and facility for print Each library will define what innovation means in newspapers that is tied to a modern digital/video room their environment. You will see first-hand that inno- for news and media research (Stephens et al./UK). vation is not the result of one person but, rather, a col- laborative process where people from different parts of the organization participate in the creation and Reference implementation of new ideas. Stanleigh M (2011) 7 Key trends in innovation. Innisfil, Innovation doesn’t just happen. It comes from Ontario, Canada: Business Improvement Architects. everyone and everywhere in the organization. There Available at http://www.bia.ca/articles/7KeyTrendsi- nInnovation.htm. can be no constraints. Innovation cannot be forced, but it can be developed and nurtured (Stanleigh, 2011). The act of innovating is not just about design- Guest Editor biography ing a new product or procedure; it can and should also Jerry W. Mansfield is an Information Research Specialist