I am thrilled to welcome our

presenter today, Dr. Chris

Rogers, the founder of Curtis

Rogers Consulting.

We are so happy to have you here

today.

I'm going to pass it over to you

to help us get started.

Welcome.

>> Great.

Thank you so much.

It is a pleasure to be here.

Hopefully, everyone can hear me

all right.

Coming to you from bright, sunny

South Carolina, even though this

is a fake background.

It's kind of what it looks like

near my house.

Anyway, welcome to library

signage, affective crisis

communications.

This is a special webinar that I

have worked with WebJunction to

put together and deliver to you,

so this is -- as a new

consultant, this is one of my

pro bono activities.

It is something that I really

enjoy talking about.

I am more than happy to bring it

to you.

So, I just want to go over a

session outline.

Like Jennifer said early on, use

the chat.

I really do believe in talking

amongst yourselves, learning

from one another during the

session.

Right now as I am getting this

little welcome and session

outline, please feel free in the

chat to say where you are coming

to us from so folks can kind of

do some virtual networking.

You might have someone in your

library system that is

participating along with you.

We already have someone from

Trinidad and Tobago.

That's wonderful.

Anyway, a little bit more about

me.

You can go to my website.

I am going to talk a little bit

about how I got into library

signage.

It is something I feel very

passionately about, and that

kind of led me to want to do

this kind of a webinar

specifically for WebJunction.

What I will be talking about,

and I will kind of believing

this to my conversation in my

talk, is crisis communications

within the context of library

signage.

I have some different webinars

that I produced on library

signage.

I've been working with library

signage for a number of years as

a former communications director

at the Coutts South Carolina

state library.

by the way, hopefully, my

southern accent isn't a barrier

for anyone, especially our

closed captioner.

I will also be talking about my

library signage philosophy for

you but have come to view over

the years, seeing library

signage, doing library signage

audits, things of that nature.

We will also go over a little

library signage 101, just some

of the basics for any kind of

library science, not only for

library signs that are in crisis

communications mode but just any

kind of library science.

We will also be doing some 

plus/Delta with some real

library science.

Hello from Saudi Arabia.

We have got folks from

everywhere.

If you do not know what that is,

what you like about something

and Delta is representing

change, so what you would change

about something.

As we look at some library signs

together, you will have the

opportunity to talk about those,

what you like about a sign and

what you think should be changed

about assigned and maybe even

why.

We will also be reviewing some

COVID-19 signage resources with

COVID-19 and the global

pandemic, I know that we have

had really a challenge on our

hands.

What we have had to do is look

closely at our library signage.

It has maybe made us think about

things a little differently.

We will also talk about?

Service issues with library

signage.

Taking a look at marketing and

signage equipments so that you

can kind of see how close or out

of reach some things are for

your library or your library

system.

I am also, hopefully, going to

address things that relate to

all types of libraries, whether

you are in a school library,

public library, government

library, wherever you are.

I understand coming from a state

library background that there

are one-person libraries with

very limited hours, and then

there are library systems with

four, five, 600 employees among

many branches.

Hopefully, something will jump

out at you that is useful from

whatever situation you are in.

We will also look at additional

resources.

To start things off, I wanted to

address what crisis

communications is.

There are a lot of different

views on this.

This slide here I adapted from

the American Library 

Association's crisis

communication information

resources and tools, which is a

PDF that is accessible from the

page on web junction that you

can click on the link to get

that PDF.

The definition is the Institute

for crisis management defines

the crisis as a significant

disruption that stimulates

extensive news media coverage

and public scrutiny that

disrupts the organization's

normal business activities.

We all know it has been in the

news and it's something that has

been going around for a long,

long time is COVID-19.

That's one of the things that I

am interweaving into this

presentation about library

signage.

Some of the things we are

talking about have to do with

crisis communications.

It can be for any type of crisis

management or crisis

communications.

So, thinking of it in that

nature.

Some of the common elements of a

crisis are that it occurs

suddenly.

Here I have added but can

persist.

We have all seen with COVID-19

that it, certainly, has

persisted, and it continues to

persist with new variants.

And it occurs suddenly.

I remember thinking back to

March of 2020, you know, things

were starting to get into the

news.

It was a week, and that Tuesday

we started talking about, are we

going to close to customers?

Are we going to close and go

home?

Are we going to have to work

from home?

by that Friday, our library was

closed and we were all working

from home having to figure out

what to do next.

So, that is something that you

have to be able to think about

how that crisis fits into other

situations.

Your library could have a fire.

It could be flooded.

You could have earthquake damage

with all the books on the floor.

A crisis can be any kind of

significant disruption that

occurs suddenly.

It also demands quick response.

You working at a library, if you

are in communications and

marketing in a library, or if it

is part of your job or if you

are a library director, you have

to think about how to respond

quickly to the crisis.

And then constant updates as

changes occur.

Also, an element of a crisis is

that it interferes with

organizational performance.

I think a lot of us have seen in

our libraries that human

resources, marketing,

communications, along with

public services and everything

else has really been greatly

affected.

Crisis can also create

uncertainty and stress.

I don't know about you, but,

certainly, I got a little

stressed out when I was having

to learn Zoom and not only to

have to learn Zoom, but to

educate the rest of the staff

and the department heads on how

to use Zoom and get more and

more Zoom accounts for the

library system.

Also, it crisis can threaten the

reputation of an organization.

Depends on how you deal with the

crisis and how well you handle a

crisis.

It can also escalate in

intensity.

It can also be lingering, like

we have seen with COVID-19.

This is a crisis, a global

pandemic that is lingering.

We have had to figure out how to

endure and how to work through

all of the different issues that

relates to it.

Crisis can also cause outsiders

to scrutinize the organization.

This is definitely where social

media comes into play.

Social media is a form of

communication that is very

important and has to be

reviewed.

You have to think about how

people outside of your

organization are looking at you

and how you are responding to

crises and how you are using

social media to communicate

those changes.

It can also permanently alter

the organization.

You have to remember that the

only constant is change.

We will continue to grow and

learn.

We will continue to attend

sessions like this so that we

can not only learn from one

another but learn from people

who have a lot of experience and

a certain facet of libraries.

Next slide.

My library signage philosophy is

something that is very important

to me.

If there is one thing that you

take away from today is that I

want you to think critically

about your library signage and

what it means.

I will be using that phrase

throughout the presentation.

To think critically about each

sign that is in your library.

Not literally but shred it to

pieces.

Really, every sign that you see

in your library, tear it apart.

Think about every single nuance,

font size, color, is it ADA

accessible?

You know, is equity, diversity,

and inclusion an issue?

All kinds of things that library

science can deal with.

Also, I want you to understand

how your library deals with

signage and a crisis.

Slapping a handwritten sign on

the front door that says that we

are closed, that's not going to

cut it.

You need to communicate

effectively with your

constituent groups.

That might even also be in

multiple languages.

You have to think about that as

well.

You are preaching to the choir,

because that is something that a

lot of libraries have to deal

with.

Again, thinking critically about

your library signage.

Also, I want you to understand

that less is more.

When it comes to library

science, less is more.

You want to have only a couple

words, because people do not

stand and read them.

Also, you want to think about

comparing your signage to what

you see when you are shopping or

you are at the doctor's office

or you are at a retail location,

maybe you are at the bank

standing in line.

Think about what the signs are

telling you.

Compare them to what you see at

your library.

We are also going to be looking

at examples of real signs and

feel free to comment in the

chat, because I love looking and

seeing what people are talking

about.

These are a couple signs that I

have seen in libraries.

I took these pictures.

A lot of the images you will see

are pictures that I have taken.

We look at these kind of signs

and is this the library font?

Is this the library color?

Where is the library logo?

Also, is DVDs and CDs possessive

of something?

Neither one of these needs an

apostrophe.

We have to think about grammar.

We have to think about color.

You have to think about how

anyone sees this things about

your library or how it

represents your library.

Okay.

So, how this all started by that

I got interested in library

signage.

I was one of the founding

members of the marketing and

communications conference.

It is a thing.

Once a year we have a library

marketing conference.

You can go to the website.

It is going to be in November in

Indianapolis for 2022.

Hopefully, you can attend.

Hopefully, everything will be

fine for it to be an in person

conference.

We are excited to see that

happen.

I attended a session during this

conference, and this was in

2016, do you see the signs?

Evaluating language, branding,

and design at a library signage

audit.

I have kept in touch with Mark.

In fact, I just sent him a

message on LinkedIn saying I was

going to be using his name

today.

Anyway, this was a session that

really got me thinking.

It made me formulate just a

thought process in my own brain

about when I got back to my

library what I was going to do

about library signage, because

library signage was is then --

was within my department.

Not every library has a

communications department.

Some libraries are one or two or

three people, but it's still

something you have to think

about and you have to realize

what is it people are seeing

when they come into your

library?

Okay.

I am going to be changing a lot

of gears throughout this

presentation, because I want to

include as much information as

possible.

I got a couple slides on library

signage 101.

Positive.

Polite language.

Be polite.

Try not to be passive 

aggressive.

Not verbose.

Get to the point.

Then again, your mileage may

vary.

Occasionally, I will say that

your mileage may vary, because

you may have to have a sign or

poster that does actually have a

lot of text on it and it may be

specifically important to

include a lot of text.

For the most part, try not to

use a lot of words.

Also, you want to consistently

use your library logo and your

libraries branding.

Does your library have a set of

colors?

Does your library have a

professionally designed logo?

Is it on most every sign?

Sometimes the sign may not work,

so you have to think through

that and think critically about

using your library colors.

Also, no typos.

If you do not need an

apostrophe, don't use that.

Think about the font and the

font size.

Is this something that maybe

someone with low vision could

see?

You have to think about ADA

compliance.

Also, do you want an image that

supports the content, or is

there no space on the sign for

an image?

Think about that.

Also, there is a tip.

If you do not know about

grammerly.com, it checks you.

It is not always 100 percent

accurate, so sometimes you have

to get a team or another staff

member to review a sign.

Maybe it is a sign that your

library director may not

appreciate.

You have to think about these

things and think critically

about each sign.

Okay.

And then we have some of the

negative items in library

signage.

If a sign is handwritten, what

does that mean?

You can actually address this in

the chat right now.

If you see a handwritten sign at

a business or anywhere, what

does that mean to you if you see

that someone has just

handwritten a sign and it is

hastily made.

It is unprofessional, done in a

hurry.

All of those things can -- yes,

low-tech, unprofessional,

temporary, last-minute, not

thought through.

Those are things you have to

understand that if someone sees

a handwritten sign, these are

the things that they are

thinking of.

You also don't want, again, too

many words.

Also, you don't want to

generally use clipart.

Try not to use it unless it is

something that you need to use.

Also, try to stay away from font

such as comic sans and papyrus.

Also, you do not want to be

passive aggressive.

Also, but I mean is saying

something negative and then

saying thank you, or saying no

and then trying to be kind.

You want to be able to get that

out of your signage.

Also, you do not want too many

colors going on.

Is that something that someone,

again, ADA, low vision, might

not be able to see that while?

In general, you do not want

too much going on.

He wanted clear and concise, and

anyone should be able to

understand the message you're

trying to convey.

One tip that I learned, after

you create a sign, go back and

start deleting useless or

redundant words.

Try to get it down to as few

words as possible.

One of the best signs I saw on a

library door was no sign at all.

You could tell, clearly, it was

going back to a staff area.

There was a keycode for the

number punch code on the door

handle.

It did not need a sign.

It didn't need to say staff

only, unless you knew the number

code, you were not going to get

into that door.

Think critically.

Again, do we even need a sign at

this certain location?

Okay.

So, a little story about this

set of signs.

I was at a library doing a

signage audit, and I have done

more than 70 signage audits.

It is something fascinating to

do.

I encourage you to do it at your

library.

I will tell you the basic

components.

There are very easy signage

audits and very complex signage

audits, and I've done a lot of

different kinds.

Anyway, you can see here, this

was a two-story library, so I

was standing kind of in the

foyer.

You can see that it goes

upstairs to the upper right of

that image.

On that door is a lot of 

signage.

Over on the table, there are

more brochures and pamphlets and

all kinds of things.

I kind of planted myself and

pretended like I was looking at

my phone doing something.

It was a high traffic area.

There were a lot of people going

in the store to the upstairs.

The 10 minutes I was standing

there, not one person stopped to

look at any of the signs.

No one stopped to look over at

the table, pick up any 

brochures.

There were a lot of people going

in and out of this door.

You can see that it is propped

open, so they are just walking

through it.

There is no captive audience at

the point.

What does this do?

What is the point of all of

these signs?

There is a lot of verbiage on

them.

Is anyone actually standing

there and reading them?

Do you need all of these signs?

Also, during a crisis, no one is

going to see your sign if there

are too many signs around,

because it is noise.

They are used to seeing a lot of

stuff and not paying attention

to something specifically if

there is a crisis.

Next slide.

This is an actual sign in a

men's restroom in a public

library when I was doing a

signage audit.

Also, if someone can write on a

sign, they will, so use acrylic

holders.

You can see here that the tape

has faded.

It has been a long time since

the sign was probably even

looked at.

Also, one of the things that you

have to think about is in a

restroom you actually have a

captive audience.

I always say restrooms are great

places for science to promote

events, all different kinds of

things.

So, elevators, if your library

has an elevator, that's a great

location for science to promote

things, because you have a

captive audience, albeit for

maybe only a minute or two.

But that is something you to

think about.

Also, a sign like this is

completely inappropriate.

Just don't do it.

That's all I can say about a

sign like this.

Okay.

Moving a little bit more into

more depth about some signs is

that font really matters.

You see in the example on the

right, you will always be mine

versus you will always be mine.

Think about the font.

Also, does your library have a

recommended set of fonts?

Do you have a media kit or style

guide?

Also, what is your library's

recommended color scheme?

A media kit on a webpage is a

great idea if you have a great

webpage with an about us 

section.

This is something that you can

possibly create.

You can add your library logo.

If you have the logo in multiple

colors or in black and white,

also, what are the colors of

your library logo or your

library scheme.

What kind of fonts does your

library recommend recommend be

used for promotion?

These can be used by a printer

if you have something going to a

printer.

You can say, go to our webpage.

This is the webpage that has our

media kit.

It tells you the color, font, et

cetera.

Also, anyone who is promoting

the library.

If you're partnering with an

outside organization and you

want to be sure that your logo

is on material just as much as

theirs is with your font and

color scheme, by them having

access to it makes things go a

lot better.

I am just noticing someone says

that they just made a style

guide for their library.

Great.

Wonderful.

Also, while I am mentioning 

that, does your library have a

communications manual?

Doesn't have a style guide?

Does it, most important, include

a section on crisis

communications?

It could just be a paragraph.

It could be a list of things to

do.

That is something to think about

as well.

Okay.

During a crisis, you want to be

able to find your communications

resources all in one place.

You don't want to have to think

about this.

You don't want to have to worry

about where was that item, where

was that thing?

You want to be able to know that

this is one place you can go to.

As an example, this is the

library of Michigan.

There is the URL.

This is a great example of a

very basic page.

This is just a section of that

page, but you can see it gives

the URL, individual pages that

are important for a media kit,

the links to social media

accounts with usernames, the

primary social media hashtag,

also the color codes.

Also, the logo files.

Again, for printers or for

someone trying to use that

library logo, and then also a

credit text.

This is something to think about

for your library.

If someone is partnering with

you and you want to be able to

say what is being used and who

is getting credit, you could

have a credit text.

Also, here's a little tipped.

This is specifically related to

crisis communications.

If you have an Internet

accessible off-site or maybe

even just using a shared

resource like dropbox or Google

drive, have a signed template

that has been created or you can

create it for your organization,

for your library that is

accessible in the event of an

emergency.

Also, remember to include the

logo and think about things like

font.

If you don't currently have a

template, think about creating

templates for your library or

your library system.

If you are library does have to

close immediately and you are

responsible for communicating

that to the general public, in

addition to everything else you

have to do, you want to be able

to even use your printer at 

home.

Print out a sign that you can

affix to the front door of your

library.

People will know what is going

on.

And at the same time, you still

want it to look good.

If it is something if the

library has to close for some

unforeseen event, you want to be

able to communicate that in as

many places as possible, but you

also want to think about how you

are going to do that from

off-site if you cannot get into

your library to actually create

that sign.

I like that.

Everyone is talking about style

guides.

You can google that for you just

do style guide.

A lot of them will pop up.

Think about looking at some

different examples.

Okay.

I want to change gears for a

second to talk about the library

sign barrier.

This is something I have come

into contact in a number of

libraries.

A lot of you may be thinking, we

have to set our library.

I never really thought about it.

Think about it.

Have you ever been in a library

or do you have this in your

library?

This is a barrier between your

customers, your patrons, and

your staff.

It creates this barrier, and

when it creates this barrier,

that actually makes your staff

less approachable.

Do you want the public to be

able to feel free to talk to the

front desk staff or not?

You have to think about signage

barriers as just that.

It is a physical barrier between

you and your customers.

You also have to think about, do

these barriers have too much

information?

Would it be better to keep these

things behind the desk and when

someone asks you a question

about an event, do they need a

bookmark for something, all of

these kind of things, is this

the best way to get that

information out there?

Then again, if you also have

crisis communications, is that

mixed in with all of this?

Will people see it?

Will it get lost in the shuffle?

One of the things I want you to

think about, and I see a lot of

you talking in the chat about

the plexiglass shields and may

be the plexiglass shields is

also a physical barrier, but

that is to protect one another.

Are you putting signs on that?

Is that causing a distraction?

Is it looking too cluttered?

Are actually people seeing the

signs, or is that adding to that

physical barrier between you?

Think about how can your library

create a space specifically for

crisis communications.

Is this something that you need

to deal with?

Okay.

I would like to switch gears.

We are going to do the

Plus/Delta Paris we have some

signs to pick up.

I'm going to try to pick some

out from the chat that you are

talking about, but I want you to

think about the next four slides

and what you think works well.

You can say one thing and what

youth think needs to be

changed.

I will tell you a quick story

about this.

I was in a library system doing

a signage audit and about the

third branch that I came to, I

noticed the sign and asked

someone behind the desk, what

does this mean?

It was a nice metal, sturdy sign

for you she took a big sigh and

said, I think some vendor got

hold of our director and said,

you really ought to have these,

and I can cut you a great deal,

because she did not know what

they meant.

It was kind of an aggravation.

They were put there without the

staff being told why they were

being put there.

Again, think critically about

each sign.

Does it clutter the workspace?

Do people know what it means?

That kind of thing.

Okay, let's take a look at the

first sign.

This is outside of a library.

So, this is in the parking lot

till you see the top says these

premises are under the

jurisdiction of the specific

city and county.

Law enforcement, no loading, no

hoodies allowed.

So, a lot of negative, a lot of

nose.

One thing I like is they are

easy to read and the font is

pretty good.

Otherwise, what are the issues

surrounding having this kind of

sign?

What does the no hoodies allowed

sign -- what is the connotation

there?

It really is kind of

distracting.

It is something that you look at

and you think, do to go in here?

I see a lot of people saying

racism, meaning to kids.

You have to think about the

connotations of what somebody is

going to think of when they see

that kind of sign.

Yes, it is intimidating and

threatening.

It is not welcoming.

It is uninviting.

This was actually a complex that

had more than a library some

other city and county offices.

It is very kind of odd to see

these kinds of things, but you

have to look at them critically,

so one of the things when I have

done signage audits is taking

the pictures of all of the signs

and looking at them in a report

out of context.

It actually is really

interesting what you begin to

see in the signage and what

kinds of connotations are made.

I am going to go onto the next

sign.

Be ready with the chat what you

think is working well and what

you think needs to be changed.

We have blacked out the library

logo, but this does have a

library logo in the lower

left-hand corner, but we can see

stop the spread of germs,

prevent the spread of

respiratory illnesses like

COVID-19.

We got the social distancing,

the hand sanitizing, wearing a

mask, avoiding touching,

disinfecting areas.

Stay home when you are sick.

Wash your hands at least 20

seconds.

You can see that it comes from

the CDC.

What a library did was add

daughter logo.

Yes, there is a lot going on,

but is this the kind of thing

you need to effectively

communicate information during a

crisis or pandemic?

How could you make this sign

better?

How could you change it?

What are the different things

that you have to think about?

I do see a lot of folks in the

comments section.

Yes, graphics are accessible.

These are helpful.

Color blocking helps.

Also, you can think about

reducing the text.

You could go back and stay

6 feet apart from others.

You could cut out from others

and just stay 6 feet apart.

You could just even take out the

word stay and say 6 feet apart.

Again, sanitizing your hands

after sneezing or coughing.

You could just say use hand

sanitizer.

There is a lot of ways that you

can go back through and you can

really cut down on the amount of

words.

Again, another tip for you think

it's wonderful.

Go back through and start

cutting back on things.

Okay.

Let's go to the next slide.

Okay.

Please read.

Stop.

Stop here.

Employees only.

Only disabled users are allowed

to use the bathroom beyond this

point.

This was an interesting sign

that I saw.

Again, two sheets of paper taped

together.

Part of it is ripped in the

lower left-hand corner, because

it has been there for a while.

Actually, there are some issues

going on about the ADA

compliance, what's going on with

restroom use.

Could we maybe say that

restrooms for ADA access, see

someone at the front desk.

How would you deal with this

kind of issue?

You can see that there is a

systemic issue going on.

There is a problem, and they are

having issues with people going

through this door who are not

supposed to be going through the

store.

So, yes, we are saying, how is

this helpful?

Thinking critically about each

sign put up.

Was this put up in frustration?

Does this convey emotions?

A lot of times signs do convey

emotions, and we are going to

look at some that convey a lot

of emotions shortly.

Okay.

Let's go to the last sign I have

for the Plus/Delta prayer for

the well-being of all, masks

required.

Thank you for your continued

support in helping our community

and library stay safe.

This has a lot of positives

going on, but there are a lot of

things I think I would change

about this.

Again, this is the kind of thing

that makes you think, what sign

works best with my community?

Now, it could be this kind of

sign, even though we are dealing

with a global pandemic and

illness and health caution, it's

kind of bright and cheery.

There is a comment, yes, I like

that it looks cheerful.

At the same time, is it too

bright?

Is the yellow color something

that is ADA accessible for maybe

someone with low vision?

Again, think critically about

each sign that you put out 

there.

How could you cut down on the

words?

It could be that you just have a

sign that says masks required.

Keep it as simple as possible.

All right.

Moving on.

Some things that I want you to

think about.

I do have a little homework

assignment for you.

This kind of fits in with the

action guide on the WebJunction

webpage for today's webinar.

I would like you to think

specifically about your COVID-19

signage.

It has probably been up a while.

Has it been reviewed?

What you ought to do is go

through your library and do a

little signage audit.

Make a list of the different

kinds of COVID-19 related

signage that your library has

implemented.

See what needs updating.

Again, we have to think

critically about what needs

updating, what needs changing.

A lot of rules and regulations

during a crisis or with a

pandemic as we have seen change

from time to time.

Does your library have restroom

handwashing signs?

Do you have social distancing

signs on the floor where people

are looking down, or are they

apply?

Do you have any updated signage

about services offered such as

curbside pickup?

Again, think about what kind of

COVID-19 signs you have and how

they are displayed and if any of

them need updating.

Now I am going to talk to you a

little about the signage audit.

I will show this.

I do have information and a link

on the page, but this is a

wonderful book.

I will try to hold it so that

you can see it.

This is by the guy who gave the

original presentation.

Yes, wonderful book, but not

cheap.

That's why you can see that I

actually check this out of my

library.

Take a look at it.

It's got great information.

Chapter 5 is all about the

signage audit.

Chapter 6 concentrates on

library signs and ADA

requirements.

It's a lot of great information

there.

Thank you for putting a link to

the book in the chat.

That's very helpful.

The library signage audit for

you like I have said, I've done

more than 70 of these.

What I do is part of that, and

these are very detailed, but you

can do very, very pared down

library signage audits.

Go through your library.

Take photos of each sign that

you come across.

You may miss some, but that's

okay.

You also want to walk around

outside and take pictures of the

facility and any signs that are

in the parking lot or outside of

the building.

There may be things that your

county or local government or

educational institution require

be posted.

You cannot do anything about

those if those are required to

be posted.

But think critically about all

of the signs in your library.

Also, one of the things that is

good to do is to compile a

visual report.

When you take a picture of a

sign and put into a report, it

takes the sign out of context.

It makes you think why is this

even somewhere?

What does it refer to?

You can also think about what is

working well and done what to

consider changing.

Like I said, you want to walk

around the library exterior.

What is your overall 

observation?

Look at the parking signs.

Are there smoking area signs?

Does it look nasty?

Does it look clean?

Is their outside seating and the

title is library signage and

wayfinding design.

Someone just asked about the

title of the book.

That's by Mike Aaron Polger.

One important thing I learned

doing signage audits, especially

from the exterior, can ours be

seen from the road?

Is that something you can see?

And then considerations.

Is the library available in a

web search?

Are there reviews about the

library?

Are the hours and location,

correct?

How welcoming is the library

based on that interpretation?

How does the book drop look?

Is it in good condition?

Also, are there any unofficial

social media pages or groups?

That is something you have to be

aware of as well.

So, COVID-19 and crisis

communication resources.

There are a lot of them.

I am going to go through these a

little quickly so we can move

right along.

The International Federation of

Library associations and

institutions has a great set of

resources.

This is COVID-19 and the global

library field.

It has information about

handling materials, promoting

hygiene, public communication,

communicating with users in a

different language.

One of the things that I came

across here is this checklist.

This is from the Canadian urban

libraries Council, which is

wonderful.

One of the things here in the

middle of the slide, do you have

a plan to communicate with your

partners, your funders, and your

supporters to secure their

continued interest and

involvement?

That is something to think about

when you are communicating.

Also, if you are communicating

about crisis, things you have to

deal with as well.

So, this checklist is very

helpful for marketing and

communications folks in

libraries, but also if your

library does not have a specific

marketing and communications

director or person, one of the

things I think is important is

that it's part of somebody's job

in the library, even if you are

a two or three person library.

Is someone thinking about

marketing and communications?

Also, does your library have a

marketing and communications

committee or a team that meets

on a regular basis?

Again, your mileage may vary.

Is it useful if you were library

may be meets quarterly to talk

about library signage, things of

that nature?

The CDC marketing resources has

great resources you can search.

I think there are 140 items, as

it says right there, but you can

keyword search, filter by 

topics.

They have also got videos with

embed codes, so if there's

something you want to embed in

your library's website, that's a

really good resource.

Resources from the American

Library Association.

This website is very helpful and

gives you a lot of great ideas

for pandemic preparedness.

Also, one of the things I had

put together was a

communications guide.

This is still available at the

South Carolina state library

website.

The communication guide

specifically for COVID-19 and

what public libraries should

think about.

Okay.

Let's see.

It's about 3:48, and I'm going

to continue to go through the

remaining slides rather quickly

so that we can open it up to

questions and comments.

Again, OCLC, WebJunction has

this great project.

There is a resorts round up 

here.

That is very good to use.

Quickly, I want to talk about

internal communications and?

Service issues.

There are some issues that

should not be dealt with with

signage.

I came across two signs.

These are really intense, but I

am just going to go through them

really quickly.

Take them for what they are

worth.

These were in a men's restroom.

First one, to the person,

because you are not a man, who

continues to defecate on the

floor, please be advised this

situation is to stop 

immediately.

If you continue with this

behavior, I was stationed

someone at the bathroom door who

will enter the restroom with

each and every person, branch

librarian.

Then on the other door as you

exit the restroom it said,

please be advised that alcoholic

beverages are not allowed on

county property.

Leaving empty beer cans in the

men's restroom is being

monitored.

No tolerance.

This is intense.

These are aggressive signs.

You could tell the branch

librarian was really upset and

has been dealing with a lot in

the men's room, but when I

started thinking about this,

yes, words failed me, too.

The question that came to my

mind was, how could I have

handled the situation with

signage and procedural changes?

The first thing that came to my

thought was, lock the restrooms,

if you are able to.

You may not be able to in

certain situations.

Put up a sign that says this

restroom is for customers only.

Ask attendant for key.

This way you maybe have have

settled this issue or this

problem with signage.

So, internal communications.

Again, yours may vary.

How does your library

communicate signage updates and

changes?

It is really important to think

about this.

When your library is doing some

signage changing, I think it's

important you communicate that

with all staff either at a staff

meeting, if you have them on a

regular basis, or by e-mail for

you just have a snapshot or a

screenshot of the image of the

sign, send it to staff, and make

sure that everyone is on the

same page.

So, things to think about with

signage equipment.

I'm going to go to this list

rather quickly so we can wrap 

up.

There are a lot of different

things to consider, even if you

have an iPad or interactive

display or something.

Consider that people will touch

it, how often is it cleaned,

that kind of thing by the

following images on the slides,

I don't recommend specific

brands.

A lot of these things are not

out of reach.

A lot of these things are

inexpensive and can make your

signage really, really good.

Here is a formal laminator.

$21.99.

There are different kinds of

display holders.

You can go all the way from

acrylic for ten dollars or less

all the way up to $60 with nice

wooden ones.

Beware of creating that sign

very here at a public service

desk.

Also, if you've a printer in

your library that allows for

11 by 17-inch pages, these are

great things.

Adjustable height and tilting.

A lot of restaurants use these

for menu holders, but they are

really great in libraries to be

able to move around.

You could put a welcome sign in

here if you are having an event,

you could also put your crisis

communications, wear a mask,

that kind of thing.

Changeable message board.

These are important.

If you have any of these, please

make sure it is someone's job to

take them outside every morning

and bring them back in at the

end of the day.

Sometimes these things,

depending where the library is,

they can get up and walk away,

especially if you leave them out

overnight.

I have seen a number of these in

the library for year for the

entryway.

These are outdoor signs, so be

sure to get an outdoor sign, use

it as an outdoor sign.

Okay.

The banner stands.

These are wonderful.

You can move them around.

They go from inexpensive too

expensive, even with LED lights.

Again, something to think about.

Again, if you have an 11 by 17

printer, these are great hanging

acrylic poster frames.

You can put them just about

anywhere.

You do have to think critically

about the location of where you

put them.

My favorite is the suction cup

acrylic holder.

You can get these for around ten

dollars each or less if you are

going to buy in bulk.

They make the sign very movable.

It's also really good to be able

to cleaning and keep looking

good.

Lighted signs, neon signs.

They are actually within reach.

$130.

You could have something that

people can see from the street

or from the parking lot.

Digital signage.

That's a whole another

situation.

You have to think about, do I

have a captive audience?

Is this something that is just a

fad?

So, think about if this is been

used in the circulation desk

where people are waiting in

line?

Are they going to see something

that rotates?

Okay.

Last couple of slides.

Some resources I think are 

great.

The accidental library marketer

and the?

Focused library.

These are two what wonderful

books that I encourage you to

take a look at.

These last three are great.

Again, the last one that I

mentioned, the library signage,

that's the one that I checked

out and I have been going

through.

Actually, I had given Mark some

information on library signage

policy that he included in that

book, which is wonderful as 

well.

So, I want to go ahead and wrap

up.

I know that I have been speaking

very quickly, and I apologize to

our captioner for speaking so

quickly.

I do want to say thank you and

open it up to questions.

Certainly, feel free to contact

me.

There is my website address and

my Gmail account.

Feel free to ask me questions,

and I will turn it back to

Jennifer.

by the way, thank you to

WebJunction and Jennifer

Peterson and her colleagues for

allowing me to do this

presentation.

>> Absolutely.

Thank you, Curtis.

This has been so fantastic.

Thank you to everyone who has

chimed in in the chat.

There has been lots of

discussion, definitely some

questions, and folks answering

each other's questions.

Feel free to keep posting

questions as they come up.

Answer each other's questions.

A couple things that I thought

that came up that were helpful

to ask and to emphasize, someone

brought up the issue of having

science prepared ahead of time

in case electricity goes out, so

I know especially for computer

monitors, that is helpful.

I thought that was an excellent

tip.

A couple different questions

about how you deal with changing

situations.

I thought a reminder to do those

audits frequently.

It could be like a shorter audit

if you are trying to identify

outdated signs.

Somebody brought up the issue of

how nobody is reading called

signs anymore.

Perhaps it's time for new

signs.

Just your thoughts on how you

deal with the changing status of

whether it's different

emergencies coming up or

different communication.

Can you talk a little bit about

how to be prepared for those

changes?

>> Sure.

One of the things I was thinking

about about this is that

off-site thing that I mentioned

is being able to have something

accessible so that you can in

very short notice if the library

is closed print a sign and take

it to the library.

It is really important to have a

crisis communications section in

your style manual or your media

kit guide so that you know what

works specifically well for your

library.

I love the idea of having the

signs prepared prior so that if

something does happen, you can

go ahead and add them and it is

not a huge issue.

You are still muted.

>> Thank you.

Sorry about that.

There were a handful of

questions about the where you

put the signage, even someone

talked about signs being higher

on the wall in the bathroom.

Do we need to be careful about

how high up or how accessible --

excessively they can be viewed?

>> You need to think critically

about if someone is in a

wheelchair or how someone can

see that.

Again, Chapter 6 in the library

signage book and wayfinding

design.

Chapter 6 is about ADA

requirements.

One of the things I think is

interesting is that ADA

requirements don't apply to

anything outside of the library

building, other than the parking

areas.

There are a lot of interesting

things you can take from that.

You do have to think about color

combinations, font size,

braille, all of those things.

>> And I just want to emphasize,

I don't know, perhaps you can

mention if any of these books

address equity, diversity, and

inclusion.

Somebody brought up a great

question about, would it be

acceptable for them to use

animals in their signage?

You know, have animals wearing

masks instead of humans?

Somebody brought up a point that

in some cultures having animals

represent us as humans is not

advisable.

Do you have any recommendations

either on resources, perhaps in

some of those books, or how to

approach that blends with your

audit?

>> This is one thing where my

phrase in my philosophy on

library signage comes into play

is that less is more.

In these situations where you

have signs that there is too

much going on, you are doing too

many things, that's where

everything starts to get

confused.

If you have a sign that has an

animal on it and it is not right

for your community, that means

you need to know your community.

That's why I say your mileage

may vary and also think

critically.

You have to really think

critically about each sign that

you put up, but it means, who

the recipient is, and what

message it is conveying in the

least amount of words possible

so that someone will actually

read it.

>> Absolutely.

Absolutely.

That is a wonderful note to end

on.

I want to thank you again,

Dr. Curtis Rogers, for being

here.

Again, folks can reach out.

There were some very specific

questions that I hope you feel

comfortable connecting with him

to get his thoughts on.

Thank you so much.

Thank you to our captioner and

to all of you that joined us

today.

A reminder that I will send you

all an e-mail once the recording

is posted.

I will also automatically send

you a certificate for attending

today.

I am going to send you to a

short survey as you lead but

it's great to get your feedback

and a check, but if you could

take the time now, or the link

will be in the e-mail I sent you

to provide us with some 

feedback.

We will share that with Curtis

as well.

Thank you again, and everyone

have a great rest of your week.

>> Thank you, everyone.