Exhibits and Events at Carleton University Library

The creative process of designing and producing exhibits in an academic library

Learning Outcomes

• The creative process: from idea to design

• The principles of good design and experience design

• Tips for running an exhibits program

• Exhibits at MacOdrum Library

•Ideas and inspiration•Creating an experience for your viewer

Academic libraries and creativity

• Libraries are full of creative people.• Academic librarians are good at research.• We have connections to the experts on campus.• The experts are also our audience.• Exhibits in an academic environment: is both an

intellectual and a creative process.

“We like to do exhibits; it is fun, allows creativity, shows off materials, and slips in some education along the way” – Erma Loveland*

Exhibits are: “…an additional means of discourse, which allows creativity in the profession”-Tom Beck*

* “Library Exhibits” exlibris@library.berkeley.edu. Exhibits in Libraries; A Practical Guide. p. 6

Why?

• Raises the library’s visibility on campus• Allows librarians working on exhibits another

way to demonstrate their knowledge and expertise

• Engages the university community• Provides opportunities to forge relationships

with colleagues in other disciplines

Even more advantages• Demonstrates the value of the library in a

tangible way• Features parts of an academic library’s large

collection and increases their visibility • Showcases unique and special items• Provide us with a different way of

communicating the value of our work.

Exhibits: a scholarly pursuit?Producing an exhibit can be compared to writing an academic paperSame process: •select a topic•Locate and explore the sources•Develop a theme or thesis•Evaluate and select material to illustrate and interpret the theme•Assemble and present the material in the best manner to convey the theme•Publish the results, by putting it on public display

• “At it’s best, the academic library exhibit is a scholarly effort, subject to review by a large audience”.*

*Lucy S. Caswell “Building a strategy for academic library exhibits” College and Research Library News 46 (April 1985) p. 168

The Challenges

An exhibit:• must be technically accurate and objective• it will be judged by a wide audience, including the experts, and must be understood by everybody• it must be attractively presented•it must contain the best possible physical evidence to support the exhibit’s theme•it must appeal to the intellect as well as the emotions•and if that is not enough, it has to be entertaining too!

One of our biggest challenges:

Getting students to stop and look

“The power of the object displayed to stop the viewer in his tracks, to convey an arresting sense of uniqueness”*

* Stephen Goldblatt “Resonance and Wonder” ch. 3 in Exhibiting Cultures: The Poetics and Politics of Museum Displays. Steven D. Lavine. Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1991. P. 42

First Steps

• Decide who will coordinate the program• Develop policies and guidelines• Consider goals and objectives• Provide an online form for submitting

proposals

Ideas and where they come from

• Keep track of anniversaries, and historical events

• Feature special collections, gift collections honouring donors and their families

• Look for travelling exhibitions from embassies, museums, and organizations

• Feature university department collections

More Ideas…• Coordinate with other events on campus.• Keep current about research and publishing on

campus.• Approach experts on campus, highlight scholarly

efforts of faculty, graduate students and alumni.• Approach subject specialists who can suggest the

names of faculty, projects, and institutes that may lead to interesting topics

• Look at library websites• Build it and they will come – one exhibit can lead to

more proposals

Experience Design

UX = User Experience:The quality of the experience a user has while interacting with a design

Experience Design = the practice of designing products, processes, services, events, and environments with close attention paid to the quality of the user experience

Gel and Creative Good

Gel: A conference for leaders and innovators who care about the customer experience, founded by Mark Hurst from Creative Good.

“A conference focused on good experience in all its forms, in art, business, technology, society, and life”.

- Mark Hurst

Principles of Experience Design• Make a good first impression• Present fewer choices – focus on the essential and

not the “nice to haves”• Limit distractions - less is more• Create a visual hierarchy; group related objects near

each other• Avoid jargon• Provide signposts and clues• Use Emotion• Surprise people in a magical way!

IPOP

• Ideas (knowledge, information)• People (their biographies, stories,

photographs)• Objects (artifacts, descriptions of

items)• Physical (colour, movement, sights,

sounds, touch)

POPPOP

FLIP“Displays that have closely related and equally strong Ideas, People, Object, and Physical elements are most likely to result “flip” experiences.” *

“Exhibition designers can create conditions whereby visitors may have serendipitous surprises that “flip” them into enjoying an unexpected experience.”**

* Pekarik et al. “IPOP: A Theory of Experience Design” Curator: The Museum Journal vol. 57. no. 1 (January 2014) p. 19** Beghetto, R.A. “The Exhibit as Planned Versus the Exhibit as Experienced” Curator: The Museum Journal vol. 5 no. 1, (anuary 2014) p. 2

FLIPFLIP

IPOP in practice

• Attract – what people notice• Engage – What people do, influences their

behaviour• Flip – how people judge the quality of the

experience, if they have an additional unexpected experience, that is meaningful and memorable

Andrew J. Pekarik et al. “IPOP: A Theory of Experience Design”, Curator: The Museum Journal. Vol. 57 no. 1. (January 2014) p. 11-12.

Good rules for text and labels• Labels should be short and focused• Write in a style everyone will understand: use

an active voice, everyday vocabulary• Use lots of white space and margins• Point size should be no smaller than 20 • Main title should be readable at a distance• Each label should be able to stand alone.

For more on on typographical design consult: Robin Williams The Non-Designer’s Design Book (2008).

Types of Exhibit Text

• Title • Introductory text – introduces the main idea• Group or section text – introduces the main

themes or groups of objects• Object labels – identifies individual items and

how each connects with your main idea• Credits and acknowledgements

Good exhibit practices:• Always have an educational objective• Choose objects that will help tell the story• Use space effectively• Use colour consistently• Layer your content• The lay-out should be logical and clear• All textual content should have a high professional

finish• Maintain your exhibit• Trust your creative instincts

The Exhibit Design Process

• Think of why and how you will produce the exhibit

• Decide on the overall theme• Develop and design the

exhibit• Make lists, use checklists

• Write and design the text• Do a trial set-up• Publicize the exhibit• Install the exhibit• Provide access to additional

resources• Evaluate and document

Exhibits Planning Check-listTo do immediately:Set opening and closing dates and reserve exhibit spaceIdentify exhibit goalsGet approval from Library management

 

To do in planning stage:Research exhibit topic and narrow the themeDevelop initial design ideasDefine space requirementsDetermine resources needed, staff, supplies, costs of materials, equipmentList material (books, objects, posters, etc.) to be used in exhibit

 

To do at the production stage:Plan, write and edit the text/captionsFinalize the designCreate any propsHave a trial set-up, try out layout, placementCreate publicity plan, alert webmaster

 

To do the week before the opening:Gather all material to be displayedPrint the text and captions; do any mountingGather all tools, equipment neededSend text for publicity to webmaster

 

To do the week of the installation:Clean and prepare the space and/or display casesInstall the exhibit

 

To do during the and after exhibit: Maintain and clean the exhibit and monitor environmental conditionsEvaluate and document the exhibit (photos and description)Take down exhibitReturn materials

Tips on supplies and equipment

• Print your text on cover stock for quick professional captions and labels

• Use acrylic stands to prop up text pieces• Get good quality book stands• Collect fabric (cotton, velvet) in various solid colours• Have the right equipment: a paper cutter, cutting

boards, rulers, and cutting blades, and a well-stocked tool box.

Connecting your exhibit to more resources

Use technology to provide resources for further reading/browsing:

•Provide a QR Code

•Put up a Webpage for your exhibit

Events

• Exhibits can complement an event on campus• An exhibit can have events associated with it:

lectures, book-talks, receptions• The library can host events such as local

community or campus events, concerts, events to support instruction on campus, special annual events such as GIS Week

MacOdrum Library’s Exhibit/Events Program

• History• Renovations 2013• New program of exhibits and events 2013 to

2015

From idea to designing an experience

• Freedom to Read week • Idea: an exhibit of banned and challenged

books• How to involve the viewer and create an

experience?• Plan an event: a public reading from various

banned books

Freedom to Read exhibit Prototype for “peep show”.Center fold: topless sun bather in Where’s Waldo.

Freedom to Read exhibit• Choose a catchy title• Narrow the focus to books

banned or challenged in Canada

• Print the free poster pdfs from Freedom to Read website and display items from this year’s Kit

• Use colours from poster and eye-catching yellow.

• Add a video.

For further reading…

• A bibliography is available in a Word document