August 29, 2017:
The Pentagram team visited in June for interviews with MIT faculty and students and Libraries staff. They also conducted several phone interviews with other stakeholders who couldn’t be on campus for the visit, including alumni and peers in the library world. The team returned to MIT on August 10 to present a strategic brief. It was very well received, and we’re thrilled that they really seem to have captured our our ambitions, our values, and how we want to project ourselves at MIT and in the world.

Key takeaways from their interviews:
  • MIT Libraries equals MIT: Described by more than one staff member as a root or circulatory system that feeds the university as a whole, the MIT Libraries are decentralized and integrated into every discipline and department. One of our first observations is that the MIT Libraries are not a subset of MIT but representative of the whole.
  • The Libraries make MIT’s Open Access mission possible: As one staff member said: “What’s exciting about the libraries is how we direct MIT’s mission. We’re implementing the MIT faculty’s open access policy. It’s their mission, but we’re putting in the legwork. Libraries are an engine for sharing the research of MIT.” The Task Force on the Future of the Libraries deepened the meaning of “open access” for the entire campus.
  • MIT distinctions should inform the Libraries brand: At MIT “nothing is impossible.” This ideal manifests in everything from the curiosity and tenacity of the Institute’s hacker culture to its mission to make the world better. MIT is not just about being smart. It’s about getting “better” done (and having fun doing it). From the start, the Institute has been a down-to-earth, democratic place—inclusive versus exclusive. The Libraries have a distinctive point of view about righting the biases of the past to better the world’s collective knowledge and everyone’s access to it.
  • Libraries could offer a better alternative to Google: From relevance of sources to expert curation to a lack of bias, “Libraries have the potential to provide a publicly-owned digital infrastructure for aggregating all bodies of knowledge.”
  • MIT may be better positioned than any other library: MIT Libraries’ challenges are generic to libraries but its opportunities are specific to MIT. In fact, because of MIT’s history, institutional culture, areas of expertise, decentralization, and visionary leadership, the MIT Libraries seem better positioned for relevance and influence than any other library or library system.

Three big ideas that would guide our brand strategy:

  1. From hoarding to sharing: Great brands attempt to “own” a compelling human value. What value can the MIT Libraries own: Generosity. Generosity is at the heart of MIT’s Open Access mission.
  2. From information to knowledge: Using terms like “knowledge” and “knowledge creation” in messaging will help enhance the Libraries’ position, as they seek to be viewed as more than a repository and conveyor of resources.
  3. From subordinate to partner: If knowledge creation and educating students are the stars of universities, libraries and librarians are often portrayed as only supporting players. To convey the role of libraries in the new world, frame messaging from a position of co-creator.
Pentagram will return at the end of September to present a more fleshed-out graphic direction and messaging based on these ideas.



November 27, 2017:
Chris Bourg and Michael Bierut and Aron Fay from Pentagram presented the new Libraries branding at the Fall all-staff meeting. 

Chris Bourg's presentation: Branding update_11.27.pdf. Pentagram's presentation begins at about 58:30 on the recording.

Next steps:
  • Pentagram provides visual and messaging guidelines
  • Brigham creates brand toolkit and plans opportunities for learning/training
  • Public launch – mid-late January
    • Presence on website homepage
    • Social media accounts
    • Library entrance signage
    • Service desk monitors
    • Letterhead and business cards
    • SWAG
  • Winter/spring - Continue updating/redesigning remaining materials
  • For Fall ‘18 - Redesign of Map & Guide and Bibliotech
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