Branding has long been a discipline of corporations and other businesses. More recently, non-profits and solopreneurs have realized that financial success hinges in part on a believable brand story.
And now, in the struggle stay open and maintain relevancy amid shrinking budgets and enormous technological change, public libraries are also putting the power of branding to work.
A stone’s throw from my home office, Marin County Free Public Library is doing just this, having recently retained OrangeBoy, a Cincinnati-based firm that specializes in library branding. OrangeBoy worked closely with library leadership and staff on surveying patrons and crafting a brand story that would resonate with the community.
The new visual brand, unveiled this month along with a new website and library cards, uses bright colors and contemporary looking textual graphics. Gone are any references physical books, a focal point of the old brand. Donna Mettier, technical services manager, explains, “The new brand takes the focus off only books and broadens our story to incorporate the many ways patrons choose the library to enjoy reading, learning and being in community.”
“My Choice for Leisure, Learning, Living,” the tagline, speaks to the dramatic shift in book publishing and distribution, and changing perceptions and usage among library patrons. (The use of taglines is also new for libraries.)
Learning, Mettier explains, refers to research, classes, book clubs, and of course reading; Living to intense patron interest in books that focus on the “nesting” category—interior design, home, gardening and other topics; and Leisure to DVD’s, music CD’s, the Internet and leisure resources.
Politics also had a hand in the branding campaign. The library depends solely on taxpayer support. “We’re always running for office,” notes Damon Hill, public services manager for Marin County Free Public Library. “The new brand is our promise to support the taxpayers who’ve so generously supported us. It tells them that we’re committed to meeting their needs, now and in the future.”
Patrons in Marin County can now download e-books, check out Nook reading devices preloaded with e-books, and learn a new language online, through the library’s partnership with Mango. To serve the Internet and smartphone generation, the library is exploring technologies that will inspire this segment of community to use its services.
The Marin County Free Public Library enjoys solid public support. Nearly half of the patrons surveyed on the old brand said the library was “Essential.” And in 2010, Measure A, a parcel tax that funds basic library services, renovations and programming, passed by 73%–more than the required two-thirds super majority.
The old brand story focused on books as the only way to read. To continue to serve the taxpayers on whom they rely for funding, libraries must maintain some of the beloved traditions of reading while integrating new technologies.
Marin County Public Library appears to be walking this fine line—and telling their new brand story–with grace and determination.
