The Deichman Library
Our work : The Deichman library
A vision of the new service offering for Oslo’s main library
A landmark building containing “lighthouse services”
During 2017 the new public library in Oslo will be opening its doors in a brand new building on the waterfront. The building has attracted a lot of attention both internally and in the public debate. In conjunction with the ongoing engineering of the building the library commissioned live|work to develop a vision for the user experience and service offering of the library of the future.
The goal of the project was to create a unified overview of the service design proposition at Deichman in addition to describing a set of “lighthouse services” that aim to attract attention and generate debate both among the staff and in the public domain. The project also aimed to incorporate service design tools and methodologies in Deichman’s development and improvement processes.
Vision put into practice
In the project’s initial phase we conducted a series of in-depth interviews collecting user needs from a range of different user profiles, staff and external experts. The central findings from these interviews became the foundation for an ideas workshop where 80 of the library’s staff participated. From the workshop came a pool of over 200 innovative service ideas for the new library. We collected and developed the ideas pool into 5 main directions that came to form the basis for the final service vision.
To investigate how the vision could be realised in real life we chose 4 concepts that were developed into experience prototypes and tested in collaboration with library staff. We conducted experience prototypes in order to quickly and reasonably harvest the maximum amount of knowledge about the concepts’ value for the users and the implications on Deichman’s organisational structure and delivery capabilities. To create believable and realistic service experiences we designed web sites, mobile interfaces, name tags etc. to be used during the prototypes. We also re-designed the staffs’ working stations with the help of a scenographer in order to enhance the realism in the experience prototypes.
The experience prototypes incorporated a range of ideas and during the 4-5 weeks of testing we were able to test:
• how physical copies in the Deichman collection could be contextualised through digital services.
• how the library could build services based upon and employing user statistics.
• how the library could become more visible and accessible across the city of Oslo.
• how the library could work to develop a service concept highlighting the knowledge and competencies of the staff.
A tool for the bigger picture
The final delivery consisted of 5 central visions for the service offering in the new Deichmanske library. The visions will support the library’s strategy in the development leading up to the grand opening in 2017 and beyond. We also delivered a tool in the form of a service blueprint framework that Deichman can use to develop library services in a unified way. The service blueprints can also be used to visualise the complexity of the library’s service deliveries and target audiences to Oslo city council’s funding authorities.
For more information:
From livework : Are Hovland Nielsen on +47 23 68 06 20
From Oslo Public Library: Reinert Mithassel at Deichman.no
Client list :
Financial
- Experian
- Gjensidige
- Itau Bank
- NCR
- Norwich Union
- PFA pension
Transport
- BAA
- Danish Rail
- EurotaxGlass’s
- NE Ambulance Service NHS Trust
- Opplandstrafikk
- Ruter
- Streetcar
- WhipCar
Telecoms
Media
- BBC
- Channel 4
- Faber & Faber
- Microsoft/Fast
- Yell
Healthcare
- Department of Health
- InnoMed
- Johnson & Johnson
- Macmillan
- NHS – Ealing PCT
- NHS Innovation & Improvement Institute
- NHS – Luton PCT
- Norwegian Knowledge Centre for Health
Public Sector
- British Standards
- Central Bedfordshire Council
- Haringey Borough Council
- Home Office
- Kent County Council
- Ordnance Survey
- Post Office
- Royal Mail
- Skills Development Scotland
- Sunderland City Council
- The Cabinet Office
Manufacturing
- FIAT
- Laerdal Medical
- Nokia
- P&G
- Samsung
- Sony
- Sony Ericsson
- Trane
- Volkswagen
Environmental-Sustainability
Economic-Development
- Design Council
- Hong Kong Design Center
- NESTA
- Norwegian Design Council
- Scottish Enterprise
- The Danish Enterprise and Construction Authority
Retail
- Boots
- Dixons
- FINN.no
- Tesco
Voluntary Sector
Cultural Institutions
- Baltic
- National Maritime Museum
- The Deichman library
