Case Study: Ottawa Public Library engages 14,000+ residents and crowdsources 1,489 unique ideas with IdeaScale

Ottawa Public Library Imagining the Library of Tomorrow

Ottawa Public Library, the largest bilingual library in North America with 33 branches, wanted to understand what residents and staff envisioned for the “library of tomorrow.” In Spring 2013 the OPL partnered with IdeaScale to run its first fully bilingual online engagement/crowdsourcing initiative to gather ideas from the public and staff.

IdeaScale built and promoted a dedicated microsite, ran a parallel staff campaign, provided moderation and reporting, and used social and traditional media to drive participation. In one month the campaign drew over 15,000 participants—about 14,750 people posted 2,800 contributions (1,489 unique ideas), 1,391 comments and 27,070 votes—feeding valuable input into OPL’s strategic planning and leading to several implemented changes.

Ottawa Public Library

Monique Brulé

Ottawa Public Library