AARL

Repositioning the State Library of South Australia through a building redevelopment
and promoting libraries through a 2003@yourlibrary Campaign

Carolyn Spooner

Abstract A two-year major building redevelopment project at the State Library of South Australia is nearing completion. The building project has been a catalyst for the library to rethink the uses of its buildings and to change its organisational structure to achieve a higher profile, and to promote itself through a major rebranding and a new approach to exhibitions and artworks. With public programs being reduced during the redevelopment, the library became a key player in a year long statewide campaign, 2003@yourlibrary, designed to enhance the image of libraries and librarians.

The State Library of South Australia has undergone something of a transformation over the last two years, both as a physical identity and as an organisation. In 2001 a building redevelopment program began after thirteen years of lobbying state government by successive directors and library boards. The building redevelopment provided an opportunity for the State Library to reposition and promote itself within the state. It developed a Strategic Plan 2001-2004 with a new vision statement 'South Australian citizens, government, communities and businesses use and passionately champion the knowledge and information services and resources of the State Library'. Some key aspects of this repositioning involved:

• names for buildings and rooms
• a new visual corporate identity
• exhibitions to showcase South Australia
• public artworks
• uses of buildings and venues, and
• public programs.

Building redevelopment

For readers not familiar with Adelaide, the State Library precinct on North Terrace (which has been described as Australia's most significant cultural boulevard), consists of a central 1967 building set well back from the street flanked by heritage buildings dating from 1861 and 1884. The 1967 building has been completely gutted and refurbished over two years, while the heritage buildings have had lesser internal changes to create more useable spaces. One of the aims of the building redevelopment was to create a strong new visible entry to the State Library to connect with North Terrace, and to allow access to other buildings in the precinct and down to the River Torrens.

The architects, Hassell + Mitchell/Guirgola, Thorp, were selected to bring the same high impact and people-friendly design to the State Library which Guirgola, Thorp showed in their design of new Parliament House in Canberra. They have brought light and a sense of space into a previously closed in central building, introduced vistas and outlooks through to historic buildings and gardens, and made inspired connections with the two heritage buildings. The brief for the project included a dramatic glass entrance foyer, a sense of openness and a merging of the inside and outside environment, an indoor/outdoor café, and well-equipped study and meeting areas. Underpinning this was a $3.7 million upgrade to the library's information technology services.

Building names

An early priority in the building redevelopment was the selection of names for library buildings and other spaces to create a stronger sense of identity. A building names committee made a bold decision to rename two of the buildings (previously named after former state governors) in order to resonate more strongly within the community. The formal approval process involved consultation with family and estates of people already commemorated, the Libraries Board, state government and the Geographical Names Board.

The 1967 Bastyan Wing was renamed the Spence Wing after Catherine Helen Spence, one of the state's early colonists, a journalist and writer, educator, social and political reformer, champion of women's rights and a known user of the two 19th century buildings. The committee considered that Spence would be a popular choice of name because a poll in The Advertiser of 20 December 1999 included her in its list of the ten greatest South Australians of the 20th century, even though she died in 1910. Her image had also appeared on one side of the 2001 Federation $5 note.

The 1884 Jervois building was renamed the Mortlock Wing after John Andrew Tennant Mortlock, the library's greatest benefactor. Since 1986 the building had been associated with the Mortlock Library of South Australiana, which was created as a result of his bequest. This choice was preceded by market research to test the community's understanding of the name Mortlock in association with the building.

The name for the 1861 Institute Building was retained, reflecting its original purpose as the South Australian Institute, formed in 1856 and the cradle of South Australia's library system.

All original building, collection and other names have been retained in some way to preserve the library's historical connections. The names are highlighted within the library so visitors can appreciate the significance of the South Australians so honoured, and biographical details of each person are included on the library's website under Names for State Library Buildings.

A new visual identity

An important component of the redevelopment was the creation of a new visual identity to rebrand the library. An Adelaide graphic designer was commissioned to create an entire identity program for not only a logo, but also a range of applications from corporate stationery to promotional items, clothing, presentation material and signage for the entire precinct.

The identity is considered to be literal and simple, encapsulating the direction and philosophy of the library, respect for its history, use of technology, encouragement of discovery, and reiterating the delivery statement 'For your information'. The logo combines a primary blue 'L' symbolising the library, its history and strength as a cultural icon, with a red dot above, representing the letter 'i'. The 'i' symbolises information, destination and location, much like a red dot on a map. Blue and red are also two of the state's colours. The formal name The State Library of South Australia which appeared on the previous logo has become on the new logo the more informal STATE LIBRARY South Australia.

The rebranding also extended to the library's printed and virtual publications. The promotional magazine Extra Extra was revamped as a full colour bi-annual tabloid. The first issue in this format featured the new Chairman of the Libraries Board, novelist Peter Goldsworthy, who is himself newsworthy. The library's website is also an extension of its corporate identity. Simplicity, access and clarity characterise the new design for the website which features the logo on all pages.

Exhibitions to showcase South Australia

Another important aspect of enhancing the image of the library was to adopt a more professional approach to exhibitions. The State Library of South Australia Foundation undertook a successful $2.5 million fundraising campaign for the exhibitions and artworks, which were outside the scope of government funding for the redevelopment. Sydney-based exhibition designer Lucy Bannyan of Bannyan Wood was engaged to design the various exhibitions, which included a Treasures Wall and the Ron Boland Newspaper Reading Area in the Spence Wing, 14 themed exhibition bays in the Mortlock Wing and a refreshing of the Bradman Collection in the Institute Building.

It was decided that exhibitions should showcase not only library collections but also the state of South Australia. The Treasures Wall is the most prominent of the exhibitions. Located overlooking the glass entry on level 1, the wall is 24 metres long and 2.5 metres high with 40 individual columns incorporating distinctively South Australian materials: abalone shell, bluestone, cattle hide, coal, copper, grapevine prunings, gold leaf, granite, green glass, iron ore, lead, limestone, opal, salt, silver leaf, slate, steel car duco, talc, wheat, wool and zinc, making it a genuine tourist attraction.

The wall showcases 20 of the library's treasures at any one time within conservation requirements, and the selection of the first round of treasures was important in inspiring prospective sponsors. Treasures include a clay tablet with cuneiform script from circa 2400-2300 BC, a hand-drawn chart of the River Murray from the late 1800s, Colonel William Light's survey level, a group of 19th century clockwork toys, a Magarey Medal from the South Australian National Football League, Aurora Australis - published in 1908 and the first book produced entirely in Antarctica, Don McLaren's handwritten diary from Changi, and a tyre, trophy and poster from the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix held in Adelaide between 1985 and 1995.

Public artworks

Public artworks were considered to be a critical part of the success of the building and a talking point for visitors. Funded by Arts SA, internationally renowned textile artist Kay Lawrence AM in collaboration with graphic designer John Nowland, were selected to create an artwork in the ground level foyer. The resulting artwork is an intellectual and complex creation representing ancient and modern forms of communication of knowledge, and is in four parts. A Kaurna greeting is etched into an entry stone, and the indigenous theme is continued with a five metre plant fibre ellipse hanging within the glass entry space. Above the ellipse is a bulkhead below the roofline which shows in relief words by Kiera Lindsay 'we speak read and write ourselves into being'. On the floor is a hand-tufted rug featuring the zeros and ones of binary code representing a piece of text by technoculture theorist Sadie Plant on the dissemination of information in the late 20th and 21st centuries.

In front of the Treasures Wall is open floor space occupied by a triptych of rugs designed by Pantijiti McKenzie of Ernabella Arts in their signature batik style. The rugs were hand tufted by skilled artisans of the Tai Ping Rug Company in China, there being no Australian company producing work of this standard. The placement of the rugs in front of the Treasures Wall has created an area of quiet contemplation and appreciation of human creativity. Near this area is an ephemeral artwork commissioned to UniSA art student Irmina van Niele and featuring cut out words and placenames on plastic bags representing issues of cultural displacement.

Uses of buildings and venues

The redevelopment provided an opportunity for the library to rethink the way it used its buildings, rooms and spaces. Service points and collections had previously been spread across three buildings, placing considerable strain on staffing resources. It was decided to consolidate these into the main refurbished building, with 85 per cent of onsite collections in a consolidated compactused basement, and a single information and reference service point for all formats of material for both general reference and stateiana. With a view to making tours of the basement more interesting, its aisles have been named after the first twelve ships to visit South Australian waters.

A major reason for creating beautiful and practical useable spaces within the three library buildings was to enable the library to enhance its public programs and to introduce a function and venue hire program. With the consolidation of services and collections into the main building, the 1884 building which previously housed the Mortlock Library became available for other uses. It was decided to use the building as an exhibition area, for public programs, and for venue hire. Similarly the 1861 building is being put to these uses and continues to house the Bradman Collection exhibition.

The venue hire program, with an information package The Best of Both Worlds, has become a major income generating activity of the library, taking pressure off other more labour intensive, but less financially rewarding income streams. Since the venue hire program started in July 2003 there have been several bookings a week for launches and cocktail parties in the glass entry foyer and the area in front of the Treasures Wall and the Ernabella rugs. When the heritage buildings are completed, it is expected the Mortlock chamber and the smaller board and meeting rooms in both heritage buildings will appeal to the corporate market.

Public programs

Library management considered that a new structure would be required to meet the objectives of its strategic plan, and that workflows would be very different within the context of the refurbished building. In terms of the public face of the library, the main organisational change was the creation of a new team of Collection Specialists to be the public face of the collections. This team's first task was selecting items for the various exhibitions, writing captions and preparing extended text for website presentations. The project work by these Collection Specialists has seen the library's input into the new exhibitions match the professionalism of the exhibition designer and meet project deadlines.

A new focus on public programs saw the formation of a Community Outreach and Liaison team to provide better targeted educational programs, tours and special events. The involvement of Friends of the Library volunteers with this team was crucial in providing a 'meet and greet' function for visitors to the newly opened Spence Wing during all opening hours in the first month of opening, and to a scaled back extent since then. A new State Library Summer School offers a consolidated range of events previously offered on an ad hoc basis, promoted in the media and with a new brochure. A well-equipped training room and a classroom have been created in the heritage buildings to facilitate a range of learning situations for staff and customers.

In terms of marketing the library, a Publication and Events position was created to provide day to day support for marketing activities, the first task being an extensive advertising and mail out campaign to inform the community of progress with the building redevelopment. Other marketing functions were outsourced as required to specialists in media liaison, publication writing and design, and promotion. High quality publications were produced to commemorate the new library, to promote the venue hire program and the Summer School program, and to encourage support for the Foundation. Support from the media has been vital in promoting the library. Channel 9 sponsorship has seen its respected South Australian identity Keith Conlon heading a television advertisement, while The Advertiser newspaper has also given critical support.

Drawing to a conclusion

The refurbished Spence Wing reopened on 14 July 2003 to acclaim from library visitors, media, government, sponsors and corporate sector alike, attracting around 15 000 visitors each week. The official opening of the new State Library on 15 October 2003 was jointly conducted by Mr Rupert Murdoch AO and the Premier of South Australia, Hon Mike Rann. This was a huge media event, largely due to the presence of Mr Murdoch, whose speech attracted considerable attention through his assertion of the urgent need for additional funding to support the educational and research role of libraries in Australia. The next stage of the redevelopment is the reopening of the refurbished Bradman Collection exhibition in the Institute Building, and the launching of new venues for hire in that building in November. The final stage of the redevelopment will be the reopening of the Mortlock Wing with its exhibition bays and new venues for hire in April 2004. Looking toward 2004, the library is dedicating the library's promotional activitieas to the theme of River Murray, which is of interest and concern not only to South Australians, but to the rest of the country.

2003@yourlibrary

During the first two years of the redevelopment, staff and customers operated around a building site, and the redevelopment was the organisation's primary focus. As a result, public programs were put on hold, but the State Library took the opportunity to initiate a project to promote its public library network and South Australian libraries in general by involving other library sectors in the 2003@yourlibrary campaign.

A planning committee was formed with membership across the library sectors, with the Libraries Board of South Australia allocating seed funding. This funding allowed the involvement of a marketing firm to develop a publicity campaign to change the image of librarians and to teach library staff media skills. The 2003@yourlibrary campaign has effectively been a 'Year of the library' in this state.

The objectives for the campaign were to increase awareness and support for libraries by communicating clearly and strongly why libraries are both unique and valuable, and to update the image of libraries and library staff for the 21st century, sustaining and strengthening their relevance. The outcomes sought were increased library usage, stronger commitment to funding, sponsorship and partnerships, higher profile amongst policy makers and positive recruitment impact.

Each month during 2003 had a designated theme. For example, January's theme was Holiday fun@yourlibrary, and the associated advertisement and poster was headlined 'Ban sought on library fun', featuring a public librarian with face paint, wearing fairy wings and with a cocky on her shoulder. Just ask@yourlibrary involved State Library and public library staff answering reference questions on talk back radio and on celebrity panels at Stump the Librarian sessions. Some of the themes tied in with other events and activities, for example July was Festival of ideas@yourlibrary in association with that festival.

Activities are documented on a website http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/2003@yourlibrary/, which has some downloadable materials and others which can be ordered centrally. Each month's activity has measurable objectives, and the website includes survey tools to measure success. Important sponsorship has been received from the print media, radio and television stations, which ran advertisements featuring the campaign's patron, satirist Brian Dawe, and local library personalities. The State Library was a finalist in the Australian Business Arts Foundation award for the campaign, which had the transferral of marketing skills from the private to the public sector as a key requirement.

A six month survey and review of the project was delivered at an ALIA symposium in Mount Gambier in October which showed that the @your library format encouraged libraries to participate in any or all of the seven campaigns according to their own objectives and available resources. The most popular with public libraries were Just ask, Holiday fun and Treasures with the latter two considered the most successful. Over 88 per cent of respondents made positive comments regarding the campaign; 81 per cent believed that being involved in the campaign has increased their knowledge of marketing and 73 per cent believed the campaign has increased staff morale. Very few negative comments were received, but staff resources and time were the major concern. From the survey, it is likely that public libraries will be repeating at least three of the campaigns in 2004. A further survey of all library sectors represented on the @yourlibrary committee is planned, and the campaign has been on-sold to other state libraries.

The success of the 2003@yourlibrary campaign and of the redevelopment coming in on time and on budget has brought considerable kudos to the State Library, which is confident it has made good progress in achieving its goal of featuring more strongly in the hearts and minds of all South Australians.

Carolyn Spooner, project officer, Directorate, State Library of South Australia, GPO Box 419, Adelaide SA 5001. E-mail: spooner.carolyn@slsa.sa.gov.au.nospam (please remove '.nospam' from address).