Public Libraries as Catalysts in Local Government-Led Innovation Ecosystems: Enabling Collaborative Innovation, Making Culture, and Entrepreneurship

Abstract

Amid rapid urbanization, cities have to reinvent themselves (e.g., become ‘smart’) in response to complex problems, evolving quality of life demands, and a need to spur innovation and entrepreneurship. While prior research supports a holistic view of smart cities stressing various success factors, less is known about the role of community organizations such as public libraries that have been contributing to communities’ smartness. This paper offers evidence about public libraries’ role in and contributions to local innovation ecosystems. Through multiple case studies, we show how public libraries foster open, collaborative innovation and facilitate context-driven entrepreneurship, thus enhancing both individual and collective potential to tackle shared problems. Public libraries also advance knowledge and contribute capacities vis-à-vis the purposeful use of digital technologies to improve socioeconomic welfare in a way that recognizes, engages, and capitalizes on the insights from all community stakeholders on the transformative potential of technologies.