The following is an edited version of the introductory speech given by Ed Jewell to the Libraries Connected Innovation Gathering event in March 2026.

Living through a time of profound change

As all librarians know, we face unprecedented financial pressures. I know all too well what those ‘pressures’ mean. It’s the challenge of running busy branch libraries single-handed; it’s buying resources from our own pockets to keep programmes going; it is even redecorating rooms ourselves to make sure our buildings remain welcoming. We are a passionate profession. We care deeply for those we serve and go to extraordinary lengths to support them.

We are also living through profound social and technological change. AI and social media is reshaping how we create and share information. The emergence of ChatGPT reminds me a little of the arrival of Google a generation ago, but this shift is creating an even more fragmented online reality. 

And that’s why our physical libraries matter more than ever.  They are places where we can come together and build a genuinely shared understanding, in a way the digital world struggles to provide. Exemplified by projects like Inspire’s work on AI and misinformation, libraries are stepping into the role of trusted guides in an increasingly complex digital world.

Literacy is also under pressure. The National Literacy Trust reports that children’s enjoyment of reading is at its lowest since 2005. The OECD warns that literacy levels across many developed countries are declining or stagnating. 

We know the power of reading and the role libraries can play in a society-wide response to support it. And that’s reflected in so much work that libraries are already doing, from Salford’s Storynook work with early years to Leeds’ storytelling festival.
 

Innovating with compassion

We need innovation if we are to adapt to the challenges and deliver on our potential. We need to keep growing, evolving and changing to build those practical dreams, but we must do it with compassion.

Over the past two years, I’ve had the privilege of visiting many libraries. It has struck me in those libraries that bustle with life that every person who walks through the door feels that it is their library.

That sense of ownership, of belonging and of trust is what makes libraries distinctive. This means we have to be thoughtful about how we innovate and change. We can’t adopt the crass approach of “moving fast and breaking things.” When we innovate we must carry our communities with us so that everyone can call the library their home.

Sarah Housley, in her new book Designing Hope, talks about four principles for shaping the future and I think they offer us a practical guide for how we innovate as a sector.
 

1) Plurality
 

There is no single future waiting for us as a profession.
Rather, there are many possible futures and many possible libraries; shaped by different communities, different experiences, different needs.

A“one size fits all” library won’t work in a world where people’s lives are anything but uniform.
 

2) Preference

Not all futures are equal and not all futures are fair.

When we start new activities or, perhaps more importantly subscribe to new services, we have to ask: who prefers this future, who does it benefit in the long run? 

Because if we don’t ask that question, we risk building services that work well for those with the loudest voices and quietly exclude those who need us the most.

3) Protopian

Not perfect - just better than yesterday.

Most meaningful changes in libraries don’t come from grand transformation. They come from small, practical improvements; tested, adapted and built over time.

4) Participatory

The more people who are involved in shaping the future, the better that future will be. The libraries I’ve seen that are thriving are the ones where communities feel a genuine sense of ownership.

When we bring those four ideas together we start to see a model of innovation that is about building change with care.