What’s in a name? The public, again
Queens Library returns people power back to its brand, Walcott announces other changes
BY BILL PARRY
In order to honor and serve
the diversity of it customers
and communities, Queens
Library President and CEO
Dennis Walcott announced
and new long-term initiative
on Tuesday that includes a
name change.
As part of its Renewed
Promise to the Public
initiative, the library will
now be known as Queens
Public Library (QPL) with a
new logo, tagline, pattern and
colors, a new website, and a
sharpening of its focus on
customer experience.
“We want to make it clear
who we are, what we aspire
to be and what people can
expect from us whenever they
walk into one of our locations,
have an interaction with us,
call us, or visit us online,”
Walcott said, promising to
visit QPL’s 65 locations across
the borough in 65 days to
welcome the public alongside
library staff.
The previous logo, adopted
in 2005 when the library was
known as Queens Library,
was an orange and yellow
book topped by a wing with
the tagline “Enrich Your
Life.” QPL’s main color is
now purple, a color associated
with some of the qualities
QPL seeks to cultivate, such
as wisdom, creativity, dignity
and ambition, and a secondary
palette of colors highlights the
vibrancy and diversity of the
public library serves.
The new tagline is “We
speak your language.” It means
QPL not only speaks Spanish,
Queens Public Library President and CEO Dennis Walcott announced on April 2 a new name for the borough’s library system, as well as a
‘renewed promise to the public.’ Photo courtesy of Queens Public Library
Chinese, Bengali, Russian,
Greek and many other
tongues, but also imagination,
tech, history, LGBTQ, HTML,
finance, non-fiction, science,
fiction, story time, chess,
teens, opportunity, and many
other interests and pursuits.
It makes clear that the
library is here for everyone,
understanding what their
needs are and helping them
pursue their goals, according
to QPL’s announcement.
“We are upholding a
promise that requires us
to define how we think
about our role in fulfilling
the public’s needs, how the
public perceives us and the
experience we are committed
to delivering,” Walcott said.
The new logo is a Q
comprised of tilted pieces
that signify the many diverse
perspectives of Queens
Public Library, its resources,
programs and services, and
communities. It uses two- and
three-dimensional space to
express QPL’s physical and
cultural characteristics.
In two dimensions,
the mark is the letter Q,
referencing the library’s name
and the borough of Queens. In
three dimensions, it houses an
open book, an open doorway,
and a welcome mat, extending
QPL’s promise of welcoming
everyone. All QPL locations
now have tablets dedicated
to Google Translate so staff
can have conversations in
multiple languages with
customers. The library will
also offer another type of
translation device at every
site and will soon pilot a
language line service offering
telephone interpretation at
several locations.
“The word renewal
recognizes our 123-year
history and that we are
constantly evolving to meet
the changing needs of our
communities,” Walcott said.
“And we added ‘public’ back to
our name to reinforce who is
at the center of our work and
to whom the library belongs.”
The new website is
faster, easier to navigate
and search, and clearer,
with more contrast to better
meet ADA compliance and
it can be translated into
over 80 languages. It also
features a responsive design
which will work on PCs and
mobile devices with different
screen sizes.
“Our ‘Renewed Promise
to the Public’ is not just
about words,” Walcott said.
“It is about helping people
get where they want to go in
their lives by working hard
to understand where they are
coming from.”
Reach reporter Bill
Parry by e-mail at bparry@
schnepsmedia.com or by
calling 718-260-4538.
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