Consuming the Library

Photo from Richochet Ideas slideshow

The snazzy youtube video that chronicles the transformation of Rangeview Libraries to “Anythink” libraries helped me warm up to the idea of “launching a library as a competitive brand” (in the words of their design company, Richochet Ideas).  As a woman in the video put it, “we’re in competition, whether we like it or not.”

I have to grudgingly admit that she’s right.  100 years ago media choice were few and far between, just getting news was a thrill, forget choosing between devices, mediums and superstores.  Maybe Andrew Carnegie would have been just as happy with a Nook or an iPhone!  Perish the thought...Carnegie in his smoking jacket,  clicking through Good to Great or getting the latest stock prices on his phone.  Maybe he would have spent his fortune setting up WiFi hotspots instead of helping towns create libraries.

For me, there is a tremendous inherent value in the library as a physical place, a sanctuary, a respite.  Our need for a library is greater than ever because of the constant media stream that assaults every waking moment.  But, alas, I am a spokesperson for the minority.  Modern Americans are consumers and they love to be entertained.  The old fashioned library doesn’t have much to offer along those lines.  So, if I accept that in 2011 the library is an underdog (another quote from the video), and that people have to be sold on how and why the library is important and should exist, then I must admit that the Anythink motto and accompanying squiggle logo is brilliant.

Anythink means considering anything and everything... the possibilities are endless, go where you want to go, be who you want to be...and find out how to do it at the library.  Anythink introduces patrons to the library as a portal to their future, any future, any time, any where.  In one word it sums up how I feel about reading (but I’ve never had the need to sum up reading one word besides ‘books’).

The squiggle logo is pretty clever too.  On the library computers a cartoon of a squirrel discovering the world (and the moon) pops up whenever patrons log on.  The squiggle begins as a cloud but then morphs into an ocean, a kite and dinosaurs as the rocketship squirrel explores his possibilities.  According to Wikipedia, “The animation signifies the many things a doodle can become and the sparks of imagination available to anyone who visits an Anythink library”.  Focusing on the ‘big idea’ of a library is something that Anythink has nailed.

My favorite part of the Anythink branding are the clever posters and flags that lead patrons down the garden path to what’s available at the library.  The posters prompt library customers to “think” about something, anything. You can check them out on Ricochet’s website but here’s a sample...

“Any bullet
Any sacrifice
Any war
Any why           
Searching for facts?  Truth?  Reasons?  A guide can help you unravel any conflict in recorded history...”

“Any accusation
Any culprit
Any twist
Anyone’s guess
Want Mystery?  We can help you find it.  From classic and modern to young adult and early teens...”

No doubt about it...Anythink is appealing, you can feel it pulling you in and working its marketing magic.  Citizens of Rangeview agree;  library cardholders are up 28%.

Creepy Marketing?

Anything Wright Farms is hip, modern, fresh and plastered with advertising, logos and slogans to help the public understand why they should even bother with the library (see yesterday’s post).  They are getting rave reviews from libraries across the country who are also desperate to hang onto their relevance with a new generation.  

Anythink has created a fun vibe that creates a positive emotional link with their patrons.  Their marketing campaign has successfully sold the idea of the library -  libraries everywhere are ready to jump on the bandwagon.

Which leads me to why I think the whole thing is just a little creepy.

• Anythink Wright Farms has no history and no connection to the past.  In fact ‘Wright Farms’ is actually a district that includes three subdivisions and operates the library, parks, sewers and landscaping within the city of Thornton.  What the library offers in amenities and positive feelings it lacks in authenticity.  

• I know the library is new and every building and town has to start somewhere, but because the library was created by a marketing firm it feels a bit contrived.  Most library histories include stories of people who gave their fortunes or their time or their efforts to create a gift for their community (even if it was to glorify their own name).  To me the creation of a library should be different than the building of a grocery store, a bank or even a school, its “brand” should be a representation of the people who built it and the people it serves.  The Anythink library doesn’t necessarily represent the people in the Wright Farms community, it could be ‘any’where in the country.  It’s lovely but generic (think Starbucks).

• The Anythink brand was developed to ‘give people a reason to embrace’ the library.  I know I don’t live in a metropolitan area, but in my small village people embrace the library because they value reading, they want to encourage their children to learn, they want to study, get out of the house, find a job, read a magazine or sit in an air conditioned building.  It makes me uneasy that our culture now has to launch a marketing campaign to explain why reading, gathering, learning or talking are good things.  But, on the other hand, we also have to explain why people should eat fruit and veggies so I guess, at least, we’re consistent.

Despite my misgivings, Anythink is making big waves in the library world and inspiring librarians to think about and present the library in a whole new way.  In May, Michelle Obama awarded Pam Sandlian Smith with the 2010 National Medal for Museum and Library Services at the White House and last year she was awarded Librarian of the Year by the state of Colorado.  Both awards spread the Anythink good news like dandelion seeds across the lawn.  While a new approach offers hope for the future of the library, I hope we keep some of the old boring libraries around as well, even if I’m the only one in them.

Selling the Library

I’ve been wrestling with my opinion of the Anythink Wright Farms in Colorado.  It’s hard to tell by the name, but Anythink Wright Farms is a library, part of the Anythink library brand.  Yes, you read that right, a library brand.  

Before I could form my opinion too much, I had to do a little research on branding (English majors don’t much of an education in marketing).  The definition of branding on about.com is “getting your prospects to see you as the only one that provides a solution to their problem.”  A good brand delivers your organization’s message credibly, creates an emotional link, motivates your buyers and establishes loyalty.

I am a pretty rotten consumer.  I usually (always) buy the cheapest thing I can get my hands on...I’m not embarrassed to shop at Dollar General, the Salvation Army or yard sales if I can get a good deal (which I always can).  But two brands that I am loyal to, and will pay a little more for, are Honda and Nike.  Both companies are extremely good at delivering the promise that their brand offers to consumers consistently.  Successfully defining your brand as a company involves examining your values, thinking about your mission and determining your product’s personality.

When Pam Sandian Smith decided to create (and trademark) the Anythink brand for the Rangeview Library District in Colorado she was helping the community see how the library could solve “any” problem they were “thinking” about.  At first I was a little disturbed that the library had to be sold like a bag of Cheetos, but then I remember how old I was.  I remembered that I learned how amazing the library was many moons ago when all we could do after school was watch Gilligan’s Island or do our homework.  In comparison, the library was like a amusement park.  Now the library has TONS of competition...the Internet, video games, cable television, I-pods, smart phones...kids have an amusement park waiting for them when they open their front door.  Smith has to demonstrate to them (and their ‘younger than me’ parents) why the library was still cool and worth visiting.

Here’s how they established a new library brand:  

• First they threw out everything about the old Adams County library (except the books) and hired Richochet Ideas, a creative consulting company.  They came up with a hip logo (a squiggle with potential), cool slogan (A Revolution in  Rangeview Libraries) and the overarching “Anythink” brand that permeates every aspect of the library experience.  

• They built an modern, flexible space for people to gather, play, hang out and be seen in (maybe near the indoor/outdoor fireplace) and they included a public park next door.  Of course, it is also LEED certified.

• They scrapped the circulation desk and set up stands for roving librarians, now called Guides, to perch at when they weren’t roaming the floor looking for customers who needed help.  They also scrapped late fees for overdue materials.

• Dewey was history.  Gone are the decimal points and lengthy number codes.  Wordthink is in - a system of organizing books that is similar to the bookstore.  Can you just imagine the signs (incorporating the Anythink brand) that help patrons locate their book?

• Little conveniences and attractions are sprinkled everywhere...a cafe for refreshment, a tree house in the children’s room and word games on their website.

Smith used her love of style and design to completely reinvent the library...there is nothing old, conservative or boring about it.  It is an amazing space that most communities would drool over.  In fact it reminds me of shopping at Hollister or Abercrombie...everything is beautiful, fun and makes you want more.  

Could ‘any’ thing be wrong with that?  I need a little more time to ‘think’ about it...come back tomorrow and see if you agree with any of my conclusions.