Eric SchnellAssociate Professor

Prior Health Sciences LibraryThe Ohio State University

Innovation:

The Librarian's Dilemma?

Overview

What is Innovation?

Sustaining and Disruptive Technologies

OSU: Pro

The Innovator’s Dilemma

The Librarian’s Dilemma

What is Innovation?

Invention vs. innovation

“Invention implemented”

Many innovations were invented 25 yrs ago

A process; a culture

Types of innovations:

- Product/Service

- Processes

What are Sustaining and Disruptive Technologies ?

Sustaining Technologies

Sustaining technologies improve the performance of established products or services that customers have historically valued

Disruptive Technologies

Disruptive technologies consist of components built around proven technologies and used in new ways

Sustaining or Disruptive?

Sustaining or Disruptive?

E-ReservesSustaining

Disruptive: Course Management Systems

Chat Reference Sustaining

Disruptive: Google

Electronic Document Delivery Sustaining

Disruptive: Open Access

Thinking About Innovation

 

Clayton Christensen’sInnovator’s Dilemma

Q: How can great companies fail?- place value on sustaining services- allocate resources to support sustaining services

Q: Why do good managers fail? - listen to customer needs- support organizational structures and cultures not

conducive to innovation

Q: What makes an organization innovative? - reallocate resources - create independent project groups

The Librarian’s Dilemma ?

Survey current customer needs

Place value on sustaining services

Have organizations designed to focus on and protect existing practices

Allocate resources to support sustaining services

Lack organizational structures conducive to innovation

The Librarian’s Dilemma ?

By listening to our customers and placing value and allocating resources on what they say they need today, will libraries meet a fate similar to hard drive, typewriter, and photography manufacturers?

Thank You!

http://ericschnell.blogspot.com

schnell.9@osu.edu