One of the things I’ve come to like is the “lab” type sites such as Google Labs and Yahoo Next. It lets them post ideas and projects that may not make it to fruition but at least lets them gauge interest and find problems.

In library-land I’ve come across LCLS Labs and UofVa Library Lab though I’m sure there are others. Right now the majority of the experiments are on individual library coder’s sites or blogs. I think many of these ideas (such as bookmarklets, firefox extensions, etc) are worthy enough to be included somewhere on a library’s site even if there is not enough buy-in to make them “official”. There are various reasons I think this is a good idea:

  • These things are difficult to find as they are scattered across various coder sites. A centralized place for a specific institution would allow them to be found and used by more patrons
  • Showcase patron hacks. Patrons are beginning to build more and more of their own tools. Why not showcase/link them on a library page even if the library itself does not wish to support it
  • Much of this is institution specific. It makes sense to link to it from the institution, even if it's not hosted there. For example the sites that have a list of bookmarklets for tons of institutions.
  • Feedback for ideas. Even if your initial release it mostly a hack you can at least gauge interest in what services people are looking for
  • Don't look stagnant. When I visit many libraries I can't really tell if they are doing anything or just sitting still. Most look like they have been sitting still for quite some time. Highlight that the library is actively working on many projects, even if they don't all see the light of day
  • Reduce Replication. Multiple developers along with a scattering of patrons all making the same plugin for the same institution is probably not the best use of resources. Being able to see what people are doing and what can still be done would help quite a bit
  • Communication. Do you really know what others in your institution are doing behind the scenes? A central place to post could be helpful. A blog would be as well.

One of the drawbacks is the possibility of getting calls for support on these items. How you present these offerings will be important. You will probably want to stress that these are offered without support but for feedback purposes. How many institutions would go for this I don’t know.