Nantucket Atheneum

Increasing community awareness while “enriching island life year-round”

challenge
Due to budget cuts and reduced funding from the town, the Nantucket Atheneum, the public library of Nantucket Island, needed to increase community awareness of both its services and its financial needs.

solution
Studio-e began by getting to know the Atheneum, its staff and its very engaged community through interviews and focus groups. We created a document entitled, “Nantucket Atheneum: Increasing Community Awareness,” in which we outlined key fundraising messages and recommended initiatives to increase awareness and funding.

We then developed a tagline that expresses the vital role the Atheneum plays on the island, to be used on all communications: “Enriching Island Life Year-Round.” With these fundraising messages in place, we updated the Atheneum’s identity, creating two versions (square and horizontal) for flexibility, while retaining a sense of the building’s historical significance; we then compiled a graphic standards guide.

Our largest task, re-designing the library’s website, required us to incorporate the Atheneum’s existing database, CLAMS (Cape Libraries Automated Materials Sharing), into the new design. We conducted extensive research of library sites across the country, led focus groups and developed a straightforward website that’s functional and easy to navigate. The site is easy to update as well, enabling the library staff to maintain an up-to-date listing of dynamic programs and events on the homepage, accompanied by photos.

results
The community responded well to an easier-to-use website, generating more support and use of the island’s unique library.

Nantucket Atheneum, MA.