Coaching a scenario learning process for the KB

What does the KB National Library do? You may have visited the KB National Library during your studies, sitting in the reading room or perhaps in the dark behind one of those microfiche readers. But times change, and the KB has not stood still. The "collective memory" of the Netherlands contains not only more than 120 kilometres of written heritage, but also a (growing) e-Depot with some 40 million digital newspapers, (e-)books and websites. As coordinator and hub of, and together with, the public libraries, it works on reading promotion, digital inclusion and lifelong learning.

Change and uncertainty call for a different look at the future and sharper choices The (information) landscape around the KB has entered a period of accelerating uncertainty: from the rise of self-publishing and AI-generated content to the scaling up of internationalising publishers, and increasing pressure from governments and tech billionaires on what information may still be published. All these developments mean the KB has to have these and other trends and uncertainties in view and to think fundamentally about its role, profile and (new) options for action in that light.

Coaching a scenario-learning process that also had to produce results To get more of a grip on that fast-changing external world, the KB set up a project group of its strategists. They were trained in foresight and scenario thinking. But more broadly across the organisation people also needed to become familiar with these methods by practising with them as part of a wider working group that provided input for every step of the scenario journey. As Jester Strategy we were able to coach and facilitate that process, the sessions and the dilemmas that sometimes come with it.

What did it produce? The scenarios generated not only good conversations in the working group, the project group and with leadership, but also a shared frame of reference for future developments and what the KB should always want and need to defend. Options for action also emerged that feed into future strategy and policy plans. Above all, a broad group of staff with varied expertise and roles has practised with the scenario method by, above all, "doing" it, something that helps them handle uncertainty and make choices more consciously in their day-to-day work.