Once again we visited the Retail Marketing Expo put on by our local retail merchants' association. A quick and belated recap:
Hot topics:
Video for business
The one area where I saw more vendors than I have previously. And it's relevant to us, too - we're in a space to consider videos as part of our new branding effort, or as part of a grant. Prices were actually lower than I expected; I saw packages advertised for $1,500 - $2,000. Lots of money, but not too much to consider.
Cheap or "ganged"' printing
I thought there were more printers here this year than last year, and they were advertising their discounts pretty heavily. I was surprised, though, about how little they were able to offer in the way of information (and not just networking). I was there to actually SHOP, and I had specific products in mind, and it was rare for someone to be able to tell me a price, or even to show me a paper sample. I would have liked an opportunity to get information that I can't get from a website - like the feel and weight of a paper.
Social media strategy
As a library, we really aren't in the market for this kind of service - and I guess they knew it! Even for the simpler types of services (that we might have been able to afford), there were not many ideas for how to apply the service to a nonprofit scenario. : ) To be fair, this was the Retail Marketing Expo - I think we need a Nonprofit Marketing Expo to really meet our needs.
Overall, I'm not sure I will want to go next year. There were some interesting things to see, but frankly the "making contacts" element of this event often seems wasted on me. I might want to for for an hour or so, but not to spend all day.
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Friday, August 3, 2012
Interactivity
I've recently fallen in love with a museum blog. I'm finding that we have a lot of overlapping issues, both in terms of our business model (not "visitors=sales=money", but "visitors=stats=convincing people=money) and in terms of our goals and struggles - stay relevent, get people through the doors, engage younger people, get people interested in you and talking about you.
Here's a post I loved about interactivity:
http://museumtwo.blogspot.com/2012/06/17-ways-we-made-our-exhibition.html
and another post about how to create a successful interactive element:
http://museumtwo.blogspot.com/2009/04/design-techniques-for-developing.html
I think these ideas have a lot of potential applicability in libraries, especially when working with teens. Because one of the major struggles of adolescence is finding and expressing your identity, teens tend to like being encouraged to express themselves. Temporary or permanent interactive displays would be a great way to get teens engaged with the library.
Here's a post I loved about interactivity:
http://museumtwo.blogspot.com/2012/06/17-ways-we-made-our-exhibition.html
and another post about how to create a successful interactive element:
http://museumtwo.blogspot.com/2009/04/design-techniques-for-developing.html
I think these ideas have a lot of potential applicability in libraries, especially when working with teens. Because one of the major struggles of adolescence is finding and expressing your identity, teens tend to like being encouraged to express themselves. Temporary or permanent interactive displays would be a great way to get teens engaged with the library.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Old-fashioned Charm: Love it or lose it?
Where I work, we build very sleek, modern libraries. They are lovely - high ceilings, lots of light, open spaces, modern signage. They fit well with the image we're trying to create (to the extent that we think about our image at all.) We try to portray ourselves as a new library for a new age - we are modern, slick, efficient; we are cool and professional. We use Barnes & Noble as our model. We're seeking a place in the business world, we're emphasizing our role in health information literacy and financial literacy, we think of our librarians as consultants. Our publications should portray us as "a winner."
Are we going the wrong way?
One thing I've noticed is that when people speak of libraries with affection, they are almost always talking about an old-fashioned experience. They love the feeling of peace and quiet, or they love the nooks and crannies, they love the sense of mystery, and the wonder of being surrounded by books - for many people, the older the books, the better. I've heard people wax nostalgic about paper dust. They don't want the experience of a large chain bookstore. They want the old-fashioned charm of a library.
While I love the open, airy spaces of our new libraries, and paper dust makes me sneeze, I can identify with this other perspective. I love old-fashioned libraries. I love mysterious staircases and hidden corners and yes, I love old books. I once read a quote that said that the love people have for their library is inversely proportional to the size of the library - that small libraries would always be beloved, in a way that large libraries never would be.
I think that New York Public Library gives this the lie. Look at the recent reaction when they considered moving their stacks. Their reading room is beautiful and well-used, and they have a rich array of cultural programming. The lions that flank the entrance are so iconic that they had a children's television program named after them (PBS's Between the Lions). They are a huge library serving a huge population, and yet they are loved.
The simple fact is, old-fashioned libraries are an emotional brand with a lot of positive resonance. As we move our library into a sleek, almost corporate image, what will our emotional impact be? We've worked hard to get away from the old-fashioned nostalgia, but I'm worried that we've driven away the people who love us the most. How will we regain their love? How will our sleek professionalism gain anyone's love?
I'm not ready to give up on the modern library yet, but we're going to need to think hard about the way we brand ourselves. We want to be professional, but we need to stay human, need to be approachable - we need to be able to be loved.
Are we going the wrong way?
One thing I've noticed is that when people speak of libraries with affection, they are almost always talking about an old-fashioned experience. They love the feeling of peace and quiet, or they love the nooks and crannies, they love the sense of mystery, and the wonder of being surrounded by books - for many people, the older the books, the better. I've heard people wax nostalgic about paper dust. They don't want the experience of a large chain bookstore. They want the old-fashioned charm of a library.
While I love the open, airy spaces of our new libraries, and paper dust makes me sneeze, I can identify with this other perspective. I love old-fashioned libraries. I love mysterious staircases and hidden corners and yes, I love old books. I once read a quote that said that the love people have for their library is inversely proportional to the size of the library - that small libraries would always be beloved, in a way that large libraries never would be.
I think that New York Public Library gives this the lie. Look at the recent reaction when they considered moving their stacks. Their reading room is beautiful and well-used, and they have a rich array of cultural programming. The lions that flank the entrance are so iconic that they had a children's television program named after them (PBS's Between the Lions). They are a huge library serving a huge population, and yet they are loved.
The simple fact is, old-fashioned libraries are an emotional brand with a lot of positive resonance. As we move our library into a sleek, almost corporate image, what will our emotional impact be? We've worked hard to get away from the old-fashioned nostalgia, but I'm worried that we've driven away the people who love us the most. How will we regain their love? How will our sleek professionalism gain anyone's love?
I'm not ready to give up on the modern library yet, but we're going to need to think hard about the way we brand ourselves. We want to be professional, but we need to stay human, need to be approachable - we need to be able to be loved.
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Tips to Encourage Creativty
Here are some of the ideas I gleaned from reading Imagine. I'm focusing these tips on group creativity - the kind that is more concerned with creative problem solving than with making pretty posters.So, what can you do at your library to encourage creativity?
1. Arrange for people who don't usually work together to run into each other. My library started making everyone conduct their staff meetings in the administrative offices. Now we see people from different branches on a regular basis, giving us the opportunity to share ideas.
2. Create teams that have some people who already know each another, and some who don't. This will help people feel comfortable enough to share freely, but still inject new ideas.
3. Go to conferences and retreats. They don't have to be very expensive or very far away. Getting away from your routine locations will also help you get away from routine thinking.
4. Keep conversations positive, but always encourage free debate. It's important to share ideas, and it's also important to discuss - talk about the pros and cons, talk about the flaws, talk about the failures as well as the successes. You're more likely to get the conversation you need to find a good idea, and to transform a good idea into a great one.
5. Share office space. I know, it's a pain - you can't hear on the phone, and you can't eat a king-sized bag of M&Ms without feeling judged. But people in shared space tend to talk, and it turns out that it really does help to bounce your ideas off someone else.
6. Make connections between people with different job functions. Don't just put all the librarians together on a team, and all the circulation staff together, and all the managers together. Again, this is a way to keep your brain open to new ideas - you have to hang around people with a different perspective.
7. Allow everyone some time to pursue new ideas and areas of interest. You'll drastically increase your idea pool, and you'll create some mental room for innovation.
To learn more about these ideas, read the book!
1. Arrange for people who don't usually work together to run into each other. My library started making everyone conduct their staff meetings in the administrative offices. Now we see people from different branches on a regular basis, giving us the opportunity to share ideas.
2. Create teams that have some people who already know each another, and some who don't. This will help people feel comfortable enough to share freely, but still inject new ideas.
3. Go to conferences and retreats. They don't have to be very expensive or very far away. Getting away from your routine locations will also help you get away from routine thinking.
4. Keep conversations positive, but always encourage free debate. It's important to share ideas, and it's also important to discuss - talk about the pros and cons, talk about the flaws, talk about the failures as well as the successes. You're more likely to get the conversation you need to find a good idea, and to transform a good idea into a great one.
5. Share office space. I know, it's a pain - you can't hear on the phone, and you can't eat a king-sized bag of M&Ms without feeling judged. But people in shared space tend to talk, and it turns out that it really does help to bounce your ideas off someone else.
6. Make connections between people with different job functions. Don't just put all the librarians together on a team, and all the circulation staff together, and all the managers together. Again, this is a way to keep your brain open to new ideas - you have to hang around people with a different perspective.
7. Allow everyone some time to pursue new ideas and areas of interest. You'll drastically increase your idea pool, and you'll create some mental room for innovation.
To learn more about these ideas, read the book!
Saturday, June 30, 2012
What I'm Reading: Jonah Lehrer's Imagine
I know Jonah Lehrer has been getting some bad press lately for recycling his writing, but he's still one of the most gifted science & psychology writers I know of. So I'm not going to worry about it.
Imagine is about creativity - not just artistic creativity, but productive creativity. How do people come up with good ideas? And how do they turn those good ideas into finished products, like inventions or albums or websites? These are the questions that Lehrer addresses in this book, with a combination of psychological research and individual stories.
I found it to be a fascinating read. As I said, Lehrer is a gifted writer, and the book reads quickly and smoothly. I learned that caffiene is helpful when we need to focus on refining and perfecting an idea, but that it impairs the "remote associations" that allow us to germinate ideas and come up with novel solutions to problems. Because of those same remote associations, we are more likely to have an "aha!" moment when we're relaxed, and thinking about something else. And in order to change our thinking, it helps to change our scenery - travel really does help get you out of a creative rut!
Mostly through anecdotes and case studies, Lehrer also covers group creative processes - the things that help us be more creative and productive as teams. I found these chapters to be especially interesting. I was inspired to think about the way my office/group works at the library, and about whether we really operate in the best way to encourage our creativity and productivity.
The next post will be some quick tips based on this book for encouraging creativity in your library or organization.
Imagine is about creativity - not just artistic creativity, but productive creativity. How do people come up with good ideas? And how do they turn those good ideas into finished products, like inventions or albums or websites? These are the questions that Lehrer addresses in this book, with a combination of psychological research and individual stories.
I found it to be a fascinating read. As I said, Lehrer is a gifted writer, and the book reads quickly and smoothly. I learned that caffiene is helpful when we need to focus on refining and perfecting an idea, but that it impairs the "remote associations" that allow us to germinate ideas and come up with novel solutions to problems. Because of those same remote associations, we are more likely to have an "aha!" moment when we're relaxed, and thinking about something else. And in order to change our thinking, it helps to change our scenery - travel really does help get you out of a creative rut!
Mostly through anecdotes and case studies, Lehrer also covers group creative processes - the things that help us be more creative and productive as teams. I found these chapters to be especially interesting. I was inspired to think about the way my office/group works at the library, and about whether we really operate in the best way to encourage our creativity and productivity.
The next post will be some quick tips based on this book for encouraging creativity in your library or organization.
Favorite Library Logos
The logo research continues, and I've been looking at a LOT of library logos lately. (Alliteration: just one more service I offer.)Here are some of my favorites.
(I've linked to the library websites whenever I could, so you can see the logos in their native habitat.)
First, logos with books in them:
Anchorage Public Library
This is one of my absolute favorites.
It's a book, but at the same time it looks very digital - you can see
it as being more about reading and knowledge than about the physical object of the book. Great colors but still nice in black-and-white.
Beech Grove Public Library
Simple and elegant book-and-tree. The downside: the lettering. Why is the H large? And what's with the kerning? The bottom line especially.
Hamilton Public Library (Ontario)
What I like about this logo is the hand that holds the book. First of all, GREAT use of negative space. Second of all, it adds so much warmth and humanity to this image. It's not a picture of a book - it's a picture of a person USING a book. Wonderful.
Daniel Boone Regional Library
A fun, colorful logo that still holds up in one color. Also check out the fun tie-in on their Bookmobile Jr: http://www.dbrl.org/outreach/bookmobile (scroll down)
Place-based logos
These logos focus on the LOCATION of their library, rather than of the CONTENTS of the library.
New York Public Library
We're all jealous of New York Public Library. So beloved, such rich history. Their logo shows the lions which flank the entrance.
Chicago Public Library
I love the simplicity of this piece. Somehow it manages to seem like a solid institution of long standing, without seeming stodgy or out-of-date. The "Y" symbol, which forms the book in the center, is the "municipal device" of the city, and represents the Chicago River. (Read more here: http://chicago-outdoor-sculptures.blogspot.com/2010/01/y-symbol.html )
Orange County Library System
Okay, so this logo isn't exactly to my taste, and I think there are some things wrong with it, and yet...it's bright, it's fun, and it represents its community. I had to include it here.
Graphic Logos
It's hard to do a good graphic logo, but when you get it right, it can be both modern and timeless. Here are a couple that I do like. (You may be noticing a tendancy towards circles at this point. I confess. I do like circles.)
Hennepin County Library
I really like this. So simple, so bold.
Westport Public Library
It's graphic, it's flowing, it works in one color and at a small size. Very good.
Marion Regional Library
Being a design and type geek, of COURSE I like this logo!
(Note: This logo seems to be ENTIRELY HOMELESS on the internet and to exist only within Google Images. I can't find a library with that name, and the designer's site won't load either.)
Jefferson-Madison Regional Library
A local favorite of mine.
And a final, self-indulgent category......
RAINBOW LOGOS!
This section really has nothing to do with my professional opinion. I just happen to love rainbows
Anchorage Public Library
This is one of my absolute favorites.
It's a book, but at the same time it looks very digital - you can see
it as being more about reading and knowledge than about the physical object of the book. Great colors but still nice in black-and-white.
Hamilton Public Library (Ontario)
What I like about this logo is the hand that holds the book. First of all, GREAT use of negative space. Second of all, it adds so much warmth and humanity to this image. It's not a picture of a book - it's a picture of a person USING a book. Wonderful.
New York Public Library
We're all jealous of New York Public Library. So beloved, such rich history. Their logo shows the lions which flank the entrance.
Marion Regional Library
Being a design and type geek, of COURSE I like this logo!
(Note: This logo seems to be ENTIRELY HOMELESS on the internet and to exist only within Google Images. I can't find a library with that name, and the designer's site won't load either.)
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Library Book Logo - pros and cons
Our library is exploring a new logo. Not that we really have a logo right now, so I guess we're exploring the possibility of A logo.
And there's one large question that keeps coming up: Do we or don't we use the image of a book in the logo?
Pros: Books are still the single image that people associate most with libraries. (http://www.oclc.org/reports/2005perceptions.htm) A logo with a book is immediately recognizable - a book is an easy thing to visualize, and when people look at it, they see "library."
There's also an affection factor. People who already love books are probably the most inclined to love libraries, and we can tie ourselves into that. I love books, and my favorite library logos all have books in them.
Cons: Books can be seen as old-fashioned and boring, which we definitely want to leave behind. A book image doesn't help us expand ourselves. We don't necessarily want to play into the libraries=books stereotype. If we want to start moving into a new niche, we need to start creating a new brand, and associating ourselves with a new image. We are trying to remove our association with "things" like books, discs and computers, and associate ourselves with intangibles like service, community, and intelligence.
:) Now if I can only find a way to create a visualization for community and service...
And there's one large question that keeps coming up: Do we or don't we use the image of a book in the logo?
Pros: Books are still the single image that people associate most with libraries. (http://www.oclc.org/reports/2005perceptions.htm) A logo with a book is immediately recognizable - a book is an easy thing to visualize, and when people look at it, they see "library."
There's also an affection factor. People who already love books are probably the most inclined to love libraries, and we can tie ourselves into that. I love books, and my favorite library logos all have books in them.
Cons: Books can be seen as old-fashioned and boring, which we definitely want to leave behind. A book image doesn't help us expand ourselves. We don't necessarily want to play into the libraries=books stereotype. If we want to start moving into a new niche, we need to start creating a new brand, and associating ourselves with a new image. We are trying to remove our association with "things" like books, discs and computers, and associate ourselves with intangibles like service, community, and intelligence.
:) Now if I can only find a way to create a visualization for community and service...
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