Rachel Fewell, Anythink Collection Development Manager, and Mary Thelen, Anythink Visual Arts Manager, created this presentation for a series of workshops made possible by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services which is administered by the Missouri State Library, a division of the office of the Missouri Secretary of State. The duo sought to identify and illustrate the intersection of new techniques in merchandising and classification that they have implemented at Anythink. The presentation outlines the process of converting the library collection from Dewey Decimal Classification to an adapted BISAC classification system called WordThink and explains the new merchandising techniques the library branches use to create a more inviting, intriguing, presentation of materials in a library setting.
2. The 21st Century Library
• Branding: establishing our identity
Library as the third place:
-Distinct from home or work
-Liberating environment
-Encourages people to stay and to return
-Playful atmosphere
-A place of discovery and
transformational experiences
3. Finding Our Identity
• Establish the personality
of the 21st Century library
• Evolve from institutional
to organic
• Focus on customer service
and transformative
experiences
What is Anythink?
4. • Our Mission
Statement:
we open doors
for curious minds
• Descriptive words:
Imaginative, progressive, creative,
distinctive, intuitive, adaptable
5. • Why the name?
Anythink is the experience that anything is
possible.
• Why the doodle?
A doodle is the start
of any idea.
6. Identity Dictates Action
Customer-centered identity means:
• designing architecture and furnishings
• for comfort and easy traffic flow
• Mapping the space and the collection
• For ease of use: Wordthink, signage,
merchandising
• Providing exciting programs, products and
personalized services
7. Customer-Centered
• Staff guided by shared
values
• Understand and empower
our customers
• Collaborate with customers
to meet their needs
9. Welcome to Anythink!
• Brand rollout: a process
Getting staff and community comfortable with
the brand through subtle use of brand colors and
fonts in pre-rollout print materials
Jam sessions and
elevator statements
prime staff for brand
buy-in
10. Brand: Consistent & Comprehensive
• Visual Consistency
Fonts
color palette
logo
19. Design Wordthink
• Collection Development team visited
Maricopa County
• Used BISAC as a model
• Created grids that better classified our
collections
WordThink Conversion
20. WordThink Grid
Music MUSIC
MUSIC How-to HOW TO
MUSIC Songbooks SONGS
Nature NATURE
NATURE Animals ANIMALS
NATURE Animals ANIMALS Birds BIRDS
NATURE Animals ANIMALS Insects INSECTS
NATURE Animals ANIMALS Land LAND
NATURE Animals ANIMALS Ocean OCEAN
NATURE Dinosaurs DINOS
NATURE Plants PLANTS
Parenting PARENT
PARENT Baby Names NAMES
PARENT Pregnancy PREGNANC
21.
22.
23. Working with Vendors
• Communication and Timeline for the
project
• Plan for collecting
–Branch closures timeline
–Continuing to order Dewey while
ordering WordThink
• Translation grid – BISAC to WordThink
• Ongoing feedback
• Yearly updates and
retro-fitting
26. Physical Transformation
• Spine Label examples:
DVD
HOME
DIY
BIOGRAPH
FAMOUS
TRUMP
HISTORY
MILITARY
WW2
MEDICAL
HRT DIS
COOKING
INTNTL
J
PLACES
US
TEEN
RELATION
TEEN
GRAPHIC
SPIDER-M
27. Converting the Catalog
• Split up collection – 4 staff members change
item records for Dewey ranges
Example: 636.7 = PETS DOGS
– go through item by item
• Every NF collection converted
LP, Books on CD,
J & E, Teen
• Change catalog display
28. Converting the Branch
• Group “like” materials
– Map out new locations of
materials using collection
statistics
• Close the branch – fastest,
easiest, cleanest
– 35,000 item collection = 1
week closure
– 12 FTE complete the
project
• New signs, maps of location
• Orienting all staff
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30.
31.
32.
33. Changes to Shelving
• Broken down into smaller
groups of shelving
– Collection is not linear,
no beginning or end
– Emphasizes subject-
specific groupings
– Varying height and sizes
– Freedom to reconfigure sections
– Empty shelves and endcap displays
34.
35.
36.
37.
38. Customer Experience
• Many are indifferent
– Come in looking for a
book, leave with a book
– Come in to browse, go
to section
• Some come in ready to
challenge Wordthink
• Different from Bookstores
– Catalog gives specific
location of every book.
39.
40. Challenges with Wordthink
• Difficult for larger sections
– Medical
– Business
• Shelved by title
– Title on spine can differ
from title in catalog
– Books on same subject
not right
next to each other
• Smaller NF collections
43. Library Display Types
• Tabletop displays
• In-shelf display areas
• End cap displays
• Range-top displays
• Power wall and case displays
44. Display Standards
Display PrinciplesDisplay PrinciplesDisplay PrinciplesDisplay Principles
• Balance
• Emphasis
• Proportion and scale
• Rhythm
• Harmony
• Rule of 3
Rules of ThumbRules of ThumbRules of ThumbRules of Thumb
• Activate key visual
zones
• Front up rows
• Face out books
• Fill gaps
• Fluff
45. Enhancing
• Use accessories sparingly: let the books
be your décor
• Stack multiples on tabletops and in-shelf
• Add media and live demos
• Incorporate staff picks
46. Display Do’s
A well-balanced, open, attractively layered Power wall display. This one highlights new arrivals and items of seasonal interest.
The table displays in front of the power wall draw customers in to browse the wall displays.
47. Display Do’s
Examples of well-placed displays on lower rangetops. Books on easels atop
another copy of the book alternate with books on easels alone. Note varied
Placement of in-shelf displays.
When kids see the library’s habit of
arranging board books neatly by
size in baskets, they can find what
they want more easily. Who
knows—perhaps some will take the
lesson home.
48. Display Don’ts
Too many books (above) poorly spaced on too many levels, plus a
mismatched mix of wrinkled surface coverings make for a discon-
nected, scattered-looking display unattractive to customers.
A good idea poorly
designed (above).
Don’t let displayed books (right)
block Wordthink signage! Use
displayed books to illustrate
what the Wordthink neighbor-
hood contains.
49. Display Don’ts
(Top left) Issues with height
and spacing leave this dis-
play less than compelling.
(Bottom left) Bulletin boards
and decorating of any kind
detract from the clean,
professional look of the 21st
Century library, where the
beauty in the setting is in
the books themselves.
(Right) Books removed from
display easels must be re-
placed promptly. Books on
shelves must be fronted,
and shifted to maintain a
balanced look from shelf to
shelf. Large gaps should be
filled in with display books.
51. Signage No-nos
No day-glo. No tape. No dirty, dog-eared signs.
No handmade signs. No tape.
No day-glo. No clipart.
No signage overkill.
No sloppy placement.
No tape.
No unreadable, non-brand fonts.
No daycare-bulletin-board styling.
NO TAPE!
54. • All Staff
keep oriented to displays daily
help keep shelves “fluffed” when you’re on the floor
55. Maintenance
• Daily orientation to displayed materials: one-
minute walkthrough
• Fluff display areas and fill gaps: libraries that
merchandise their materials see circ spike 30-40%
immediately
• Change out displays: if display does not draw
interest in first day, be ready with back-up ideas
56. Equipment & Resources
• Use approved display equipment
• Provide sign templates and holders
• List thematic idea-starters
• List resource links and books
• Keep examples of display dos and don’ts
• Observe prohibited practices:
avoid visual clutter
do not use tape
do not use handmade signs
57. Plan Your Merchandising Schedule
• Schedule a training session at each branch
-presentation of merchandising plan
-dos and don’ts
-provide handbook
-provide merchandising equipment and
hands-on demos
-plan quarterly walkthroughs with branch
managers