Empowering Your Patrons with Signage
By Kathleen Disney
Signage can make a tremendous difference in how effectively
and efficiently you and your patrons use the library/media center. Here
at Druid Hills High School we are believers in using signage
to empower our patrons in their never-ending, active searches
for materials.
Druid Hills has an unusual situation in that, because of limited
space, our fiction bookcases are short and sit in between our
tall nonfiction bookcases. Students were always confused by this “mixed-up” arrangement
, therefore, a distinction needed to be made to help our
students better understand the location of different material
types.
First, we made large color-coded directional signs for the end
of each bookcase. Each section sign is outlined in a different
color:
Fiction in red, ( Story collection
in yellow)
Nonfiction in black,
Reference in tan and Biograph y in blue.
The signs are large enough to be easily seen from across the
library/media center, enabling us to use them as visual cues
as we direct several students to the bookcases they need, while
helping other students in another part of the library.
Next, we added labels to every shelf. Yes, every shelf
has a label and each shelf label holder is color-coded using
the same colors as the bookcase end signage. The labels describe
the range of books found on that shelf and are large enough (60
to 70 font size) to be seen at a distance.
These color-coded shelf label holders allow students to more
easily distinguish the nonfiction shelves from
the fiction shelves and the shelf label font
size helps them locate the exact shelf they need with a sweeping
glance. An extra “perk” is that the shelf
labels are also great for the media specialists as we shelve
or look for materials ourselves.
Student time in the library/media center is brief and must be
maximized. Why put books on the shelves and dare patrons
to find them? Be sure that the signs you display in your
library/media center serve a purpose --- make certain they help
your patrons locate the materials you have so carefully chosen
for them to use and enjoy.
Resources
Bookcase End Signage – We made ourselves using construction
paper and word processing.
Shelf Label Holders -- We used Brodart 44475 and specified the
colors.
