Participatory Practices for Library Service Design and Student Engagement

Abstract

This paper presents participatory design as an approach for co-creating services and engaging with students in an academic library context. The practice of participation allows members of diverse groups to work together to build social relationships and achieve shared goals, while advancing values such as mutual learning, power sharing, and self-reflection. To demonstrate the practice and potential of participation, the authors describe two case studies for co-designing inclusive library services and engaging with students. The case studies are situated at the intersection of participatory design, service design, student engagement, and critical assessment. Principles, procedures, benefits, and limitations of this approach are discussed, along with practical recommendations for implementing participatory practices in libraries.