[OPLINLIST] Friends group vs. Library logo

[Jimmie Epling]

Brian,

Since arriving here I have given thought to a new logo because the current one is dated and looks more like a seal.  This is why I am looking at changing the logo.  We have Friends groups at each location of the Library, so that has entered my thoughts.

If you want you want the public to identify your library by just the logo, then you probably don't want someone using something similar that might confuse the public.  The logo can come to embody your library's identity, your brand.  

Companies are quick to forbid use of something that looks similar to their logo by another company because they have little or no control over how it is used.  This is not to say the Friends will intentionally misuse it, but just imagine how they might use it?

One local Friends group organized a bus trip during National Library Week to Cleveland Public and a couple of other places, which included shopping.  Now would you want an independent group using your logo to promote this trip?  This is not  what I want people to remember when they see the Library's logo, especially at levy time.

Short answer.don't let anyone else use your library's logo or a variation on it because your library loses control of your library's  image.

Jimmie

Jimmie Epling 
Director
Wayne County Public Library
304 N. Market Street / P.O. Box 1349
Wooster, OH 44691
O: 330.262.0986 / 330.804.4702  Ext. 7022
C: 606.923.1576
jepling at wcpl.info
 
"A different world cannot be built by indifferent people."