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AbstractPublic 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes social living labs for informed learning as an innovative approach to interprofessional and community education. It presents a new conceptual model and practice framework suited to rapidly changing, information-intensive work and social environments. The proposed approach is theoretically informed and evidence based. It integrates concepts from three complementary fields: Informed learning as information literacy pedagogy that enables using information critically and creatively to learn (information science); interprofessional education as a professional learning model with a cross-disciplinary and community reach (health sciences/medicine); and social living labs as informal learning context and problem-solving process (community development). After reviewing relevant literature, the paper introduces the concepts and research that underpin social living labs for informed learning. Then it presents a new conceptual model and a practice framework to guide their design and implementation. To illustrate the practical application of this approach, a hypothetical scenario envisages health practitioners, librarians and community members collaborating in a social living lab to address health and social challenges related to child obesity. The paper concludes by discussing anticipated benefits and limitations of the approach and possible wider application. As a contribution to theory, the paper uncovers a previously unrecognised synergy between the principles of informed learning, social living labs and interprofessional education. Supporting information literacy research and practice, the paper identifies a significant role for informed learning in community and professional education, and a novel strategy for health information literacy development. The paper is of interest to educators, researchers, and practitioners across information literacy, community development, healthcare, and other professional fields.