Business innovation in the United Kingdom has a powerful ally these days: the British Library, the country’s biggest repository for rare books, manuscripts, and scientific papers. In the past seven years its chief executive, Lynne Brindley, has overseen a major shift in its mission and culture. The library has become more forward-looking and customer focused and much less exclusive. These changes have occasionally engendered controversy. A Guardian columnist sniffed, “The studied calm of the reading room has given way to a hum of mobile phone ringtones.” But one has only to visit the library’s public spaces, where scores of entrepreneurs, researchers, and students take advantage of the collection and the free wireless network, to see a reflection of the UK’s vital business culture. How did you get interested in serving the business community? When I took on the leadership of the library, we did market research to understand why people used us and what some of the barriers were. In the case of the business community, researchers from large companies used us, but the small and medium-size businesses less so. Meanwhile, the government, which provides most of our funding, was encouraging entrepreneurship and innovation as key to the country’s future economic success. The creative industries were growing faster than traditional industries. So it made sense, strategically, to serve those communities and to change the perception of the library from quite a formidable institution to a place that said, “Come in—we have real value for you.” How did the library make that happen? Our style and approach is “learn by doing.” We’ve focused a lot on networking. As you would expect, the majority of the library’s reading rooms are completely silent. However, when we designed the Business & IP Centre, we provided space, before you go into the reading room, for brown-bag lunches, networking events, seminars, and free access to databases. It’s made the Business Centre much less of a “shush” kind of place. And we’ve had very high-profile events where, say, Anita Roddick from The Body Shop spoke to a group of entrepreneurs. I love to watch all the cards being exchanged after a talk like that. We’ve also partnered with some unexpected groups—like the TV shows where entrepreneurs pitch ideas to venture capitalists. On one of those shows contestants have to prove they’ve done research at the BL. You’ve overseen a major strategic and cultural change at the BL. What have you learned? I brought in a more corporate-style senior team, which included a senior marketing function for the first time. But of course one can’t simply decree a major change. The British Library is a knowledge institution. I learned the importance of fitting communications to what the organization wants and needs—otherwise you don’t get the buy-in. People wanted to learn about the changes from the horse’s mouth. At any given time we have people on the staff who are deeply happy, driving forward, and we have a few people who just want things to stay as they are. That’s another thing I’ve learned about change initiatives: The whole organization is never in the same place at the same time. Yet another lesson is the importance of protecting your own physical health. You must learn what drains you and plan accordingly. I realized I need my own private network and my own mentors, and sometimes an executive coach. I’ve encouraged my colleagues to find networks and mentors, too. You’re the first IT professional—and the first professional librarian—to head the BL. How has that affected the way you do your job? In this phase of change, the institution needed technical expertise as well as general management skills; I needed to be able to ask informed questions. Running a major library is a bit like running a university: Your personal credibility as an expert needs to be strong. Do you have a favorite piece from the collection? I never answer that question. I want people to understand that we’re not a museum. We have a responsibility to our heritage, but our mission is to foster innovation and build future knowledge on top of past knowledge.
