Branding My School Library Program

Branding and marketing my library program is something I have wanted to do since my first year. I have toyed with ideas and dabbled with drafts of logos and mission statements, but I feel like the pieces of the puzzle finally fell together this summer. It may not be perfect, but it’s a scaffold that can be built on and developed as my program and I grow and evolve.

I began with a mission statement. There was a meme going around on Facebook in April that caught my eye about what school librarians offer society. I shared it on social media, and couldn’t get it out of my head. It seemed to really embody what my vision and hopes for the library are, so I tweaked it and built my mission statement around it.

“The mission of the ACES Library is to make the world a better place by creating equal access to information while supporting all learners as they develop lives that are enriched and empowered by story.” I’ve read that mission statement about 30 times this week during our orientation class, and I get chills Every. Single. Time.

​Once my mission statement was created, I really wanted a logo to make a visual statement. I created the concept using a free graphic design tool I found online, but quickly decided that I needed to outsource the project to a professional.

(Stay with me...this next step was an adventure.) Earlier in the summer, I had been watching YouTube videos about starting t-shirts businesses. I wasn’t gung-ho on creating one, but I was sucked in to learning all about the processes that people were freely sharing. I am a lifelong learner! One of the videos I watches suggested NOT creating your own graphics, but finding a real graphic designer using a website called Fivver. You can find professionals that create resumes, logos, marketing tools, photoshop editing, and more. Remembering this tip, I created an account and found a designer’s work I liked at a price I could afford. For $25, I could get three logos to choose from with unlimited edits. I sent my mock-up idea and my school’s colors to the designer.

We went back and forth for about 3 days (she was located in Pakistan, so there was some minor delays due to time differences), and I ended up with a logo I ADORE. I was very happy with this process, and will probably use it again to get some variations on my logo.

Now I have a great logo for my website, social media, and signage. This is not a year-long theme, but rather a true branding that will last years. I can’t wait to see where it goes from here!

This is my concept I created and sent to the designer.