Does this say ‘library’ to you?
November 23, 2008
Nate Hill at the PLA Blog has a post about the winning symbol for ‘library’ in Sweden, along with images of all the also rans.
Here’s the winner:
My problem with this symbol is that it doesn’t get at the “lending” concept at all, and it also represents (and reinforces) a very outdated idea of the kinds of media that libraries lend. On the other hand, none of the also-rans did a crisp job of that either — although some tried. Maybe that’s just too much to ask of a symbol.
November 28, 2008 at 11:31 am
Yeah but….it does clearly say “book”. Book here either means library or book seller, but since it’s plain and not commercial/glitzy, I think it’s a fine symbol, esp in Europe, for library. Yes, it is the archaic media representation, but the key thing is to communicate the idea of books/library; I’d opine that most people who figured it was about libraries could infer the lending part. Also, consider the durability of the icon itself: books on tape today, maybe on CD or DVD, then on microSD tomorrow, and who knows what media in a few years. This icon will continue to function as technology advances.
December 1, 2008 at 3:10 pm
Despite the fact that libraries are more and more about programming and access to electronic information, I think that the graphic image of a book is a good use of a convention. Have a look at the full book some time, there are also 106 entries for an internet cafe. Interesting that libraries have internet cafe envy when they are presented with 106 pictograms meaning “library”, almost all of which show a book….