Library Lab showcases innovative library projects

The Library Lab Showcase—held November 14—displayed 28 projects by Harvard library staff, faculty, and graduate students developed to enhance libraries. Organized by Harvard’s Office for Scholarly Communication (OSC), the Library Lab supports projects with funding from the Arcadia Fund. “The idea behind the Library Lab is to have the opportunity to create library innovations,” said Sue Kriegsman of the OSC. “After the showcase, projects are used in a variety of ways. Some are moved forward directly into production, some are taken over by library staff and implemented in certain libraries, and others take on forms of their own. Not all are permanent—the Library Lab is about trying new things, experimenting.”

“The Awesome Box” was conceived by Matthew Phillips and Annie Cain from the Library Innovation Lab. Already installed in Widener and Lamont Libraries, the Awesome Box allows patrons to return materials to a box set aside for items they deem to be “awesome.” “Awesomed” items are uploaded to a webpage With links to their HOLLIS record, are Tweeted, and appear on an RSS feed.

Jessica Yurkofsky, a GSD student, showcased “Time/Slice,” a tool that crowd-sources digital versions of the traditional library bulletin board. Library patrons can instantly upload events to a public calendar. “Libraries are rich in resources; this tool streamlines the process of creating a user-friendly digital database for events,” Yurkofsky said.

The Library Lab Showcase was organized by Emily Anderson and Sue Kreigsman of the OSC, and Abigail Bordeaux of LTS.

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