A framework for systematically considering your library signage breaks it down into three classes of signage:
1. Operational - library hours, services offered, etc.
2. Instructional - guidance on how to safely make use of library services.
3. Attention Grabbers - meant to influence a product choice or add to the transaction.
Consider what operational and instructional signage is absolutely required. For those items, document where the signage should be located and its expiration date / date to review.
Attention Grabbers are developed in response to community needs and interests, as well as your library's offerings. These will change often, having the shortest shelf life of all the signage. Planning for Attention Grabbers includes designating controlled spaces, limiting how much signage is posted at any point, and careful adherence to expiration dates.
A Signage Inventory lets you know what you have to work with, so you can make strategic choices. It can be as simple as a sheet of paper listing the library's locations for signs. This is an outtake the signage inventory of Edmonton Public Library's marketing guide created during a branding project.
Information you may want to include in your own signage inventory include: size, location, quantity, fittings (e.g. plexiglass frame, easel). Other information that may be useful include: audience demographics (ex. signs at a baby changing station assumes there will be caretakers of children) or proximity to certain spaces (the hallway outside an ESOL classroom).