The following resources are now available on the communications department website. We hope you find them useful. We’re trying to actively identified shared resources that we can supply to save our colleagues time and to create a cohesive visual identity for our libraries. If you have suggestions of new projects, please let me know.

New signage templates:

During our last signage inventory, we tried to identify signs that appear in multiple libraries, and we’ve added a bunch of new templates to the signage library. We now have some templates for quiet and collaborative study areas, guest and Net ID computers, reshelving books and shelving carts, and keep your belongings safe.

We also have Welcome to the Library signs prepared for all public library spaces (except for the Annex, which we will get to soon). These are available in two sizes – 24” x 36” large posters, and 8.5” x 11” in landscape and portrait orientation.

In the signage section, you will also find our policy sign toolkit, including icons for policy signs and welcome signs, and build your own signage templates. If you make a sign that might be useful for other libraries, please send it to us and we’ll post it in the sign library so others can access it.

link: https://apps.libraries.rutgers.edu/communications/signage-templates

Powerpoint templates:

Complete Powerpoint templates, featuring the new shield logo, are now available. Please do not use the older Powerpoint templates with the Rutgers seal. The Rutgers informal seal is no longer part of the university’s visual identity and we should be using the shield wherever possible. There are two versions of the template – an all-white version, and one with a scarlet band. These templates include title pages and sub-pages and also have a color theme that includes Rutgers colors.

To edit the Optional Presentation Title area on the slide, go to “View,” select “Master,” and then choose “Slide Master.” You will then be able to double click on the Optional Presentation Title text and edit the area. The template must be resaved before creating a presentation.

To select the Rutgers color theme, go to “View,” select “Master,” and then choose “Slide Master.” Select Colors and scroll down to select Rutgers University Libraries under the Custom subheading.

link: https://apps.libraries.rutgers.edu/communications/visual-identity-resources

Video branding elements:

Video branding elements are also now available for you to use. These should be used in any video you make that promotes Library services, spaces, or resources. It is very important that the branding is used because it will make us compliant with the university visual identity policy for video standards, create greater visibility for the Libraries, and acknowledge our ownership of this material (very important when videos are being repurposed, embedded, or linked to from other users).

The visual identity policy for video standards is:

“The Rutgers logotype, with or without a signature, must appear prominently at or near the opening or closing of a Rutgers video. In addition, the appropriate Rutgers name (i.e., Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey; Rutgers University–New Brunswick; Rutgers University–Newark; Rutgers University–Camden; Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences) must appear somewhere in the course of the video.”

**Please note: we should use the full university name, “Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey,” and not a local university name since the libraries are a central unit.

The Communications Department is supplying four branding elements that can be personalized to some extent, depending on your project:

• Video sting (musical introduction or closing video clip, watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1J4o2Gvvsiw)
• Branded title page
• Static graphic
• Closing Captions background

These branding elements can be mixed and matched, appear at the beginning or the end of your video – just so long as you are compliant with the visual identity policy quoted above. If you have a special video project or series and would like a tailor-made branding element, please let us know. We’re happy to work with you to accommodate these requests.

link: https://apps.libraries.rutgers.edu/communications/visual-identity-resources

Revised Rutgers University Libraries editorial style guide:

The Libraries’ style guide has been updated to address issues particular to the Libraries that are not covered in the university’s guidelines and to offer quick tips for remaining consistent with the established Rutgers style. Our goal is to foster clear, consistent messaging in all of the Libraries’ official communication channels, including our website, blogs, social media, print and electronic newsletters, brochures, flyers, and so on. It is not intended to supplant the style guidelines of any academic journal or news outlet to which you may be contributing material.

link: https://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/rul/staff/pub_serv/procedures/stylesheet.shtml

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The central communications office faces a unique challenge. While we are tasked with improving the appearance of the signage and marketing materials used at the Libraries, we recognize that these signs must serve local needs and be tailored for local use. It is not always feasible for the communications department to create these local materials, so we must by necessity focus our efforts on providing resources and templates to make it easier for our colleagues to quickly and easily produce professional materials that fit with the Libraries’ and the university’s visual identity.

Recently, we have expanded our visual identity resources to include a new logotype with the Rutgers shield, updated letterhead, and updated and expanded signage. To find these materials, navigate to the Staff Resources section of the website and click Marketing in the right menu. You should also review the revised visual identity guide for the university to learn how to use the shield logotype.

We will continue to expand these toolboxes and add new resources (I have asked the university for a powerpoint template which I know would be useful to many of you). I also anticipate adding additional downloadable materials–brochures for undergraduate students, alumni and guest borrowers, graduate students, faculty, special collections and university archives, and more–in the coming weeks. This is a good time to reach out if you have an older brochure that needs updating or have a new service/information to promote.

Signage Update

At a recent cabinet meeting, I presented findings from a signage inventory the communications department undertook in March and April of this year to assess progress. The percentages of templated signs in the libraries range from 1% (Smith Library*) to 27% (Robeson). This inventory was our mid-year assessment of a year-long project (approved by Cabinet in September 2016) to implement new sign templates.

As a result of our signage inventory, we are making new print-and-go signs to cover common needs—things like “Staff Only” to “Don’t Reshelf Books.” We plan to create two new templates each week through the summer. We also created “Welcome to X Library” signs for each library location that will soon be posted to the website that make it easy to post hours, policies, and additional information at entrances. Lastly, we are now providing templates in both Word and Powerpoint to accommodate users who prefer to work with Powerpoint.

Our goal is to make signage templates that are easy to use and useful throughout the libraries—but we need your help. We are working to identify new signage needs, but we hope you will also share signs you design for your location so we can crowd-source signs that may be useful to others in the Libraries. If you use the template to create a sign that should be included in the signage library, send it to the communications department. We would also like to hear from you about your experience with the signage templates—what worked? What didn’t? What would make this work better for you? Please email Jessica Pellien with your feedback and suggestions.

* Important to note that they have subsequently converted almost ALL their signs to the templates.