Do You See the Signs? Evaluating Language, Branding, and Design in a Library Signage Audit

Abstract

Signage represents more than directions or policies; it is informational, promotional, and sets the tone of the environment. To be effective, signage must be consistent, concise, and free of jargon and punitive language. An efficient assessment of signage should include a complete inventory of existing signage, including an analysis of the types of signs, its location, language, and its design. This article outlines the steps involved in a comprehensive signage audit, which along with a literature review, provides the foundation for creating a signage policy, best practices guidelines, and a branding strategy for future signage.

Evaluating library signage: A systematic method for conducting a library signage inventory

“…This iterative use of the developing methodology presented opportunities to apply, test, and refine the method. By using the worksheet with adaptations across three library types, the researchers found some commonalities, such as a dearth of directional signs and an extreme prevalence of informational signs (also noted by Stempler and Polger, 2013), abundance of signs, and commons issues with signs.…”

“…Also, when they struggle to locate and retrieve materials, they feel increasing confusion, frustration, and lostness (Beecher, 2004). Signage inventories have found poor placement, visibility, and clarity (Eaton et al, 1993); inconsistency in style (Stempler and Polger, 2013); overuse of library jargon (Eaton et al, 1993); negative messages (Stempler and Polger, 2013); and handwritten signs (Eaton et al, 1993;Stempler and Polger, 2013). Schoonover and Kinsley (2014) found that while students were using directories to locate library areas and materials, the majority preferred speaking to a person for assistance and most used a combination of methods to wayfind.…”

“…This project was a dissertation, and as such, the inventory was conducted by one expert reviewer. All signage was reviewed in each of the three weeks because reviewing all the signage in the library is necessary for an effective signage audit (Stempler and Polger, 2013). The researcher took photographs of signs that illustrated good use of signage and examples of signage issues (as identified during the inventories) during the three inventories, maintaining a log of all photographs taken in order, with descriptions of the photo and why it was taken (Mandel, 2012).…”

“…organization to gain user feedback on problems and identification of solutions, use positive and negative lessons in the next building design, and create databases and criteria to ultimately improve facility quality and worker morale and save money. One component of POE is assessment of a facility's signage, and this is an aspect of POE that is of clear concern for libraries (Lubans and Kushner, 1979;Schoonover and Kinsley, 2014;Stempler and Polger, 2013). Schoonover and Kinsley explain this importance as a way to facilitate access to library services and collections (2014).…”

“…Inventorying or auditing the signage is growing in popularity, with studies largely conducted in academic libraries (Eaton et al, 1993;Polger and Stempler, 2014;Stempler and Polger, 2013) but some in public (Mandel, 2013) and school libraries. Brown suggests that in an existing facility, staff should first assess existing signs, then develop a list of signs and their locations, possibly with supporting photos, and study the list to determine which signs to eliminate or replace and where additional signs are needed (2002).…”