Innovation management has been becoming a megatrend in libraries. Working culture is changing step by step as library management has to search for new ways to deal with an ever changing technological, cultural, and institutional context. On the other hand, academic libraries are commonly still labelled as static institutions by stakeholders like faculty and university administration. The organizational culture of both the library itself and its institutional background does not keep pace with the rapidly changing way of doing things.
The paper looks on this transitions from a leadership point of view. How can academic libraries communicate their new skills and innovative methods within and beyond their institutions? If academic libraries can become active promoters of e.g. Design Thinking on campus, they are able to strengthen their role as future proof units of the university as a whole.
Therefore it is necessary to break the boundaries of an IT-centred view on innovation in academic libraries. Digitalisation of services, systems, and resources has been and will be the main driving factor for further development. Hence everyone within the institution has to face the need for new ways of doing things wether he or she belongs to the IT-staff or not. Thinking out of the box will be one of the main skills for all librarians. The paper argues that spreading innovative thinking is one major tool to make both staff and institution future proof. Against the backdrop of discussions and experiences within seminars and workshops about innovation management in academic libraries, both in institutional as well as educational contexts, the strategies and methods of promoting innovative thinking in academic libraries are highlighted in this paper. But also ways of sharing and communicating the respective skills within the broader context of the university are discussed.
