ALBIN O. KUHN LIBRARY &
GALLERY BRANDING
L I B R A R Y A S S E M B LY
M A R C H 1 2 , 2 0 2 0

OUTLINE
• Branding: What is it and why are we doing it?
• What have we done so far?
• Library & Gallery Value Proposition
• Group Discussion & Report Out
• Wrap Up and Next Steps

BRANDING
• Two main components:
– Visual elements (logos, fonts, color palettes, images)
– Messaging (style guide, elevator pitch, slogans or taglines)
• Tells our story. Communicates who we are, what we do, and why people should care
• Applied to written and online materials
• Reinforced in interactions with users and potential donors
• Communicated consistently to University administration

WORK TO DATE
• Visual
– Aligning website style to campus branding guidelines
• Messaging
– Development of a Value Proposition

OUR VALUE PROPOSITION
Guiding Questions
What are the benefits that the Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery offers to the campus
community?
What value do we provide to the students, faculty, and visitors?
What makes these benefits valuable or important to the community? In other words, why
is what
we're doing something that people should care about? What needs do we meet /
problems we
solve? How does the value of the benefits we offer relate to those needs and problems?
What makes us unique in how we approach that? How are we different from other
groups on
campus? Other academic libraries? Public libraries? Why are we special?

OUR VALUE PROPOSITION
• Who are we?
• What do we do?
• Why does it matter?

OUR VALUE PROPOSITION
Who are we?
The Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery is a group of talented, trained, and
dedicated professionals who are invested in the academic and personal
success of our users and of the broader UMBC community.

OUR VALUE PROPOSITION
What do we do?
• We support students, faculty, staff, and visitors of UMBC in meeting their academic, scholarly, and
personal information needs.
• We create safe, inclusive, and welcoming spaces and services for all users.
• We serve all users, regardless of their discipline or status at the University, to the best of our ability.
We value and support all areas of scholarly inquiry.
• We collaborate and integrate with campus and community partners to provide programming,
outreach, and specialized services to support the whole student.
• We educate our users on the effective discovery, understanding, and use of information in creating
new knowledge and in participating ethically in communities of learning.
• We facilitate equitable access to scholarly resources in a variety of traditional and non-traditional
formats.
• We collect, preserve, and make accessible an extensive collection of core books, journals, and
electronic resources across the disciplines, as well as a unique collection of archival materials,
photographs, and more.
• We advocate and take action for changes to the scholarly communication landscape to enhance

OUR VALUE PROPOSITION
Why does it matter?
We solve problems for our users. Whether they need skilled research
assistance, technology, information resources, learning opportunities,
collaborators, or spaces, our users know that the Albin O. Kuhn Library
and Gallery is here to help them succeed as students, scholars, and
citizens.

BRANDING
• Two main components:
– Visual elements (logos, fonts, color palettes, images)
– Messaging (style guide, elevator pitch, slogans or taglines)
• Tells our story. Communicates who we are, what we do, and why people should care
• Applied to written and online materials
• Reinforced in interactions with users and potential donors
• Communicated consistently to University administration

LIBRARY BRANDING EXAMPLES
• Towson University Library: https://libraries.towson.edu/about
• Harvard: https://library.harvard.edu/
• Gallica - BnF Digital Library: https://www.bnf.fr/en/gallica-bnf-digital-
library

DISCUSSION
• What do you like about the value proposition? What do you feel
represents your work, and the overall work of the Library & Gallery,
particularly well?
• What is missing from the value proposition? What pieces of your work,
or the overall work of the Library & Gallery, are not well represented?

DISCUSSION
If you could create a tagline based on the proposition document, what would it be?
Tagline: Catchy phrase that evokes the image of your brand in the minds of your customers.
The tagline helps people make lighthearted, positive associations with the company or
product. Repeated messages that identify a product or company. Typically used on letterhead,
letterhead, in email signatures, and on websites in conjunction with the library’s name.
Examples:
– Ball State University Libraries: A destination for research, learning, and friends
– Purdue University Libraries: Access. Knowledge. Success.
– Austin Public Library: More than books

NEXT STEPS
• Incorporate feedback, finalize value proposition
• Work with Office of Institutional Advancement to turn value proposition into tagline
and brand
• Determine best ways to integrate brand with webpages, promotional materials, etc.
• Involve all staff in discussions of the best ways to get our message to campus, the
larger community, and potential donors