Future Libraries: Journey and methodology

As part of a range of measures to address the challenges of reduced funding from central government, Camden Council is exploring opportunities for reshaping Camden’s library services with the aim of making significant savings while maintaining the best possible services and outcomes for residents.

MA Industrial Design at Central Saint Martins explores how design and designers can contribute to collaborative, creative activities that bring people together around issues of concern, facilitate the articulation of these concerns, and support collaborative sense making and scenario building in response to them, sharing insights in meaningful and accessible ways.

In the Future Libraries project, research staff and students worked with council officers and librarians to design and deliver creative interactions that engaged library users and other members of the public in sharing their visions for the future of libraries.

The students and researchers carried out the research in the following way:

– Planning meetings with Camden Strategy and Change team and library service leads
– Scoping research in and around Camden’s libraries
– Workshop with library staff
– Development meetings with the library consultation lead
– 250 face-to-face consultations with members of the public in and around Camden’s libraries, using creative engagement tools

– Future Libraries engagement and co-discovery workshops with members of the public at Swiss Cottage and Pancras Square libraries
– Circulation and presentation of findings to Council stakeholder