Library Signs, Good and Bad
April 24th, 2008 Brian Herzog
Now that April 15th has passed, I’ve started taking down my library’s tax forms display, and all the signs in the library pointing to it.
I found the sign pictured here taped to the library’s front door, which got me thinking about good and bad library signs. This is definitely a bad sign - questionable colors, second sign taped over top, and remnants of tape from when it was hung last year. I hadn’t noticed this one before, which is what I get for using the staff entrance (we should all use the patron entrance more often to see what the public sees). I’m all for recycling, but we can definitely do better.
When it comes to signs, I think the fewer the better. Over the last two years, I have secretly been taking down signs in my library - no one has seemed to notice, and the library looks a lot cleaner.
I’m always interested in signs and marketing, so here are other examples of good and bad library signs - check out the Library Signage flickr group for more:
Good
- Updating Patron Information - informally explains why we need patron’s phone and email (and excellent placement to maximize exposure)
- Cell Phone Use - a clever (and nice) way to ask people to turn off their cell phones
- Another good cell phone sign - I think people respond better when they know the reason for doing something
Bad
- Don’t Touch Sign - not only overly-negative, but counter-productive
- No Cutting or Gluing - I guess the sign just supports a policy, so it’s actually the policy I don’t understand
- Don’t Move Tables - I don’t like how totally inflexible this one is; librarians don’t always think of everything
- Turn Off Cell Phone! - way too negative! And emphatic!
- Cell Phones are Silent - I like the funny graphic, and that the words don’t outlaw cell phones entirely, but I’m not a fan of the big red circle-slash, and in this case it sends a mixed message
