Public librarians’ self-perceptions as innovators: a U.S.-based case dtudy

Public libraries rely on user engagement and must continuously adapt and evolve to meet their users’ needs. Previous research has been conducted on innovation in public libraries, but not on how public librarians see themselves in relation to innovative activities. This case study has taken an inductive, mixed methods approach to investigating public librarians’ self-perceptions of their professional identities as innovators by aiming to: understand whether, and how, public librarians perceive themselves as innovators; discover which agents are innovating within public libraries; investigate how innovation happens in public library environments; and explore how organizational culture impacts innovation in public libraries.