[Publib] RE: open or closed

[Julie Bauer]

How many signs does your library have on its door?  Step back and look at it sometime.  If you have multiple signs in different sizes, colors, and lettering styles, it can be confusing to the eye.  I know I have failed to see the piece of information I needed because it was surrounded by other information not important to me at the time.  The brain just sort of whites out.  (Actually, mine does that a lot anyway.)

Julie Bauer
Loudoun County Public Library
Leesburg, VA


----- Original Message ----
From: Keri Adams <keriadams at gmail.com>
To: publib at webjunction.org
Sent: Thursday, September 11, 2008 5:15:07 PM
Subject: Re: [Publib] RE: open or closed


According to Why We Buy by Paco Underhill, doors are the worst place to put signs because people ONLY read them if the door is locked.

It's a really interesting book about retail marketing which I'd recommend to librarians interested in displays and signage.

Keri Adams
YA Librarian
Johnson Public Library
Hackensack, NJ 

*Find out when your favorite author has a new book out!*
http://www.yalit.com
http://www.kerilynnadams.com



On Thu, Sep 11, 2008 at 1:05 PM, Hopkins County - Madisonville Public Library <library at publiclibrary.org> wrote:

Signs...such wonderful things.

We have the same problem. Having just changed our opening hours we had
plenty of people trying to break the door in - even though the new hours are
on the door they are tugging at.

But then nothing can beat the time I closed the computer lab down for
upgrades. I put on the clipboard where the signup sheets are that we were
closed for upgrades, & I shut the door to the lab. I still had people asking
if we would be opening it. Someone even asked WHY it was closed - even
though they read the sign at least twice! Oh well.

Terry Caudle
Hopkins County - Madisonville Public Library
library at publiclibrary.org
www.publiclibrary.org


-----Original Message-----
From: publib-bounces at webjunction.org [mailto:publib-bounces at webjunction.org]
On Behalf Of Christopher F. Bowen
Sent: Thursday, September 11, 2008 11:27 AM
To: 'publib at webjunction.org'
Subject: [Publib] RE: open or closed

I am convinced that patrons do not believe signs that say things they do not
want see. There have been a number of times that we have been closed for an
in service day, or a power failure or other emergency. We will put a sign in
each of the entrance doors (four at one end of the building) that say we are
closed, state why we are closed, and give the date and/or time we expect to
reopen. I have seen patrons come to the doors. Read the sign on one door,
move to the next door and read the same sign, and to the next and the next.
Then they grab the handle and try to open the door anyway, just in case the
four signs were wrong.

I hope that it is because they love the library and just hate the thought
that it is closed, but sheesh!

Christopher Bowen


Christopher F. Bowen
Library Director
Downers Grove Public Library
1050 Curtiss Street
Downers Grove, IL 60515-4606
630-963-2595


-----Original Message-----
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Subject: [Publib] Open/Closed Signs
To: <publib at webjunction.org>
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How do you let your patrons know if your library is open or closed?



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