Using 'Lego Serious Play' to develop a Library Strategy

In the Wild West survival among gunmen was a matter of moving. Standing still would increase the probability of getting shot. In a world of rapid change, being on the move also increases one’s chances of survival. We – the research libraries - live in a world of rapid change. But will random walk save us? Hardly. Therefore, a modern library needs a strategy to steer and guide its path.
In our paper we will start by challenging the assumption that a Strategy is a ‘must have’ for a modern research library. We will take our point of departure in presentation of the current management paradigm in most academic institutions (New Public Management) through this theoretical lens seek the raison d’être of strategic work in research libraries.
We will then move on to a presentation of a comparative analysis of the vision statements of 17 European research libraries carried out in 2019. Our analysis will conclude that they lack vision, ambition, originality and creativity.
We move on by introducing The LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® methodology system intended for strategy development. We will demonstrate how we successfully managed to engage staff in literally building a new strategy. The LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® methodology assumes that 80% of a meeting’s content is generated by 20% of the participants. The rest of the participants don’t contribute and leave the meeting with a negative experience. In a LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® workshop all participants become engaged.
We will finalize our presentation by showing examples of how it worked at The University Library of Southern Denmark and end up presenting our resulting new strategy.