Creative Spaces in Public Libraries: Navigating the Culture Clash with Institutional Norms and Expectations

Abstract

Public libraries promote inclusivity and creativity yet struggle to activate and maintain the spaces required for inclusive creative practice due to institutional norms and processes. This mismatch creates impediments to user engagement. Using a “design institutioning” framework, this article investigates whether creativity and bureaucracy can coexist in public library workplaces. In the context of a regional public library in Australia, this article explores (i) understanding and activating appropriate organizational cultures, structures, and systems to suit the diverse purposes of the contemporary public library, and (ii) recruiting and protecting designers as intermediaries to navigate conflicting ideologies and facilitate mutually beneficial outcomes in public library institutions.