The EU is hampered by a shortage of ICT skills and could lack the skills to fill as many as 700 000 IT jobs by 2015 – chapter 2.6 COM(2010) 245 "A Digital Agenda for Europe". X-Libris focus on educational innovations that are social both in their ends and in their means. Specifically, we define social innovations as new ideas (products, services and models) that simultaneously meet social needs and create new social relationships or collaborationsm as a way to create new learning path. In other words, they are innovations that are both good for society and enhance society’s capacity to act. Moreover Adult learning adapted to the individual needs of learners is important for increasing inclusiveness. The training offer should be made more flexible and modularised and should offer individualised learning pathways. As stressed in the Europe 2020 Strategy, E&T systems should focus their curricula on creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship. The X-Libris Project provides experience-based and active learning to promote the acquisition of e-skills, a risk-taking culture, initiative, curiosity, intrinsic motivation and the critical thinking of individuals to improve their education. All this embed in new services designed in cooperation with the final user plus "adhoc in training service for librarians". The whole stakeholder map involves citizens of all ages in cooperation with libraries, municipalities, educational centres, NGOs and private companies (which are part of the strategic partnership) to address the role of the user that changes from a passive to an active player. A new generation of Open Educational Resources (OER) and MOOCs are developed and make it available through "on line courses" through a process of 8 Intellectual Outputs. Setting up the X-Libris focused among others on; 1.The intensive use of distributed networks to sustain and manage relationships, helped by broadband, mobile and other means of communication. 2.Blurred boundaries between production and consumption. 3.An emphasis on collaboration and on repeated interactions, care and maintenance rather than one-off consumption. 4.Reform of approaches to pre-service training and preservice training structures 5.A strong role for values and missions redefining the role of the users. Tangible outcomes: 100 adult learners involved creating a Learning Adult Community 25 Librarians involved to develop new program for "in training service" 20 School teachers trained they run library services 20 New SMART ICT 3.0 services 1 X-Libris Methodology to learn how to implement X-Libris in other Libraries and Schools 1 XLibris Multilingual Platform 3 Vimeo X-Libris Educational Channel-Multilingual 5 Social Media Networks (TR,BG,DE,LT,EN) 8 Intelectual Outputs Impact X-Libris pioneers a new form of co-operation among multilevel actors to fully realize a new adult training based on innovatives Methodologies to embrace novel training practices and competences involving the final user in the service definition and training implementation at Library level. 5 sub-objectives are set in accordance with EU Cohesion Policy implemented along the Intellectual Outputs plan disseminate these sub-objectives. INNOVATION & ENTREPRENEURSHIP
There is an ambiguity and a debate about the professional role of librarians and where the future lies for libraries in the new, increasingly competitive information environment. While the library is no longer the only place for information provision, wants and needs of the end users transform. As a result, libraries are facing with the challenge of designing and developing new services and re-designing the existing ones. Redefining what the library services and library building mean to users and restructuring the way information services are designed and delivered seem to be the only way for libraries to compete effectively. It has become clear that libraries cannot simply keep offering the same services and expect them to address emerging user needs. Libraries now seek to anticipate the needs of their users, building services that support transformations in the society. Librarianship is now based on participatory culture. The library of this century is not only a place to passively consume information but a place where knowledge is created, explored, shared and new social relationships are forged. Libraries today begin to redesign their services and even their physical space. Participatory librarians are expected to invite users to co-curate collections, physical as well as virtual workspace and to create new services (or new ways). There is a need for a new approach which brings users into the service design. Xlibris Project developes an approach (methodology) which enables any interested individual (locals, prosumers, visitors, librarians, library users, potential users) to contribute in new service design with his/her expectations, needs, likes and preferences. The main aims of Xlibris Project were involving users in the service design, uncovering users’ needs, desires, wants, likes as well as dislikes, developing a methodology for service co-design, experimenting with this methodology for new service creation and developing training and in-service training programs (within lifelong learning approach) based on the findings of the experimentation process. With this aims several activities were undertaken. A series of training and in-service training activities in order to develop user-centred new library services based on smart ICT was organized. Innovative methodologies were experimented to develop the Xlibris Methodology tool set as well as finding the best possible way to benefit from each methodology with the purpose of service co-design. Additional to a Study Analysis, a series of Open Educational Resources (OER), a methodology, and a multilingual MOOC defining how innovative new services can be co-created with the involvement of users were developed as the main intellectual outputs. An adult learners community (with more than 500 members) which includes librarians, future librarians (LIS students), library users, teachers, academics; 20 new SMART ICT 3.0 services (5 by each partner), a multilingual crowdsourcing platform, multilingual vimeo channels are among the tangible outcomes of the project. The project consortium consisted of 5 partners: a higher education instution (Hacettepe University from Turkey), a public library (Pencho Slaveykov Regional Library from Bulgaria), an educational center (Radviliškis District Municipality Educational and Sport Service Centre from Lithuania) a non-profit educational institute (Wisamar Bildungsgesellschaft from Germany), a municipality (Gemeinde Kabelsketal from Germany) and an NGO (ISES - Innovacion Social Emprendedores Sociales from Spain). X-Libris focused on the intensive use of smart ICT to sustain and manage relationships; blurred boundaries between production and consumption; collaboration and on repeated interactions, care and maintenance rather than one-off consumption; reform on training approaches and structures; and redefining the role of the users. X-Libris pioneered a new form of co-operation among multilevel actors to fully realize new library services based on actual needs of the final user. Xlibris experimented a shift from user centered design approach to co-design with users. The educational materials developed within the project Xlibris provide the opportunity to learn and replicate the same approach in different information settings with different stakeholders.