VALUE CO-CREATION AND SOCIAL INNOVATION FOR A NEW GENERATION OF EUROPEAN LIBRARIES

Project Information

LibrarIN

Grant agreement ID: 101061516

DOI

10.3030/101061516

Project closed

EC signature date 2 June 2022

Start date 1 November 2022

End date 31 October 2025

Funded under

• Culture, creativity and inclusive society

Total cost

€ 2 992 375,00

EU contribution

€ 2 992 375,00

Coordinated by

ATHENS TECHNOLOGY CENTER ANONYMI VIOMICHANIKI EMPORIKI KAI TECHNIKI ETAIREIA EFARMOGON YPSILIS TECHNOLOGIAS
Greece

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - LibrarIN (VALUE CO-CREATION AND SOCIAL INNOVATION FOR A NEW GENERATION OF EUROPEAN LIBRARIES)

Reporting period: 2023-11-01 to 2025-10-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

LibrarIN responded to the evolving role of libraries in the digital and social innovation landscape. Traditional top-down public service delivery is no longer sufficient, as libraries now address community participation, inclusion, digital access and knowledge-sharing. The project supported a shift toward demand-driven, value co-creation models, where users, librarians, policymakers and stakeholders jointly shape services. Key needs addressed included: developing a holistic framework for value co-creation; analysing innovation in digital transformation, social entrepreneurship and living labs; and translating evidence into tools, indicators and policy guidance to support implementation.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

This three-year project successfully achieved all objectives in the Grant Agreement. A comprehensive conceptual framework for innovation in library ecosystems was developed and validated. One of the largest European survey exercises on library co-creation was completed with 1,233 usable responses, producing robust comparative evidence.

38 case studies were completed across AI adoption, social innovation and living labs, generating insights into transformation pathways, stakeholder roles and enabling conditions. The LibrarIN Toolkit was delivered and launched publicly, integrating three resources:
• Policy Tracker with validated data for 19 countries
• What-Works Database with 47 use cases
• Research Knowledge Base with 5,400+ references

Together they recorded more than 6,800 unique users and 25,000+ page views.

Engagement was central to project success. The Stakeholder Panel reached 39 members across 19 countries, actively contributing to co-design, validation and dissemination. Five policy briefs (above target) and four policy roundtables reinforced uptake, alongside an international conference with representation from over 40 countries. Scientific dissemination generated 27 peer-reviewed articles, 32 conference papers and an ongoing publication pipeline.

Results are accessible online and sustained through a Memorandum of Understanding signed by 40+ organisations, ensuring use and collaborative continuation beyond the project.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

LibrarIN advances library innovation research by combining conceptual, empirical and policy outputs not previously integrated at this scale. The multi-agent conceptual framework links co-creation, innovation and public-service logic, enabling structured analysis of stakeholder roles, processes and outcomes. The survey constitutes the largest quantitative dataset on innovation in European libraries, while the case collection provides unprecedented comparative depth. The project received recognition through publications in leading journals (Research Policy, Library Hi Tech, Public Library Quarterly, Public Management Review) and presentations at major conferences (IFLA, RESER, Eu-SPRI).

The final conference (Alcalá de Henares, 2025) demonstrated global relevance with participants from 40+ countries, including leading practitioners and experts. The documented use cases offer tangible examples of applied innovation - digital hubs, AI services, social entrepreneurship models, living labs - forming a transferable repository for benchmarking and replication.

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