Public Libraries: “Thumbs Down on Proposed Seattle Public Library Name Change”
From the The Seattle Times:
Results of a Seattle Public Library survey, on whether it should change its name to The Seattle Public Libraries, are in.
Short version: thumbs down.
The library released the survey results on Wednesday. Disseminated online from Sept. 18 through Oct. 11, the survey received 14,083 responses. Ninety-three percent of respondents were Seattle Public Library cardholders.
Part of an overarching “rebranding strategy” the library is considering, the survey asked for responses to the proposed name change.
The most negative response was to this question: “Does the proposed name change help us move forward as an essential part of the Seattle community?”
Seventy percent of the respondents voted no.
In answer to the question of which name “better evokes the value of communities,” 51.56 percent voted for The Seattle Public Library; 48.44 percent voted for The Seattle Public Libraries.
Read the Complete Article (approx. 500 words)
UPDATED: Letters to the Seattle Public Library About the Rebranding (via The Stranger)
See Also: Hating on the SPL Rebrand? Seattle’s Chief Librarian Isn’t Having It (Seattle Weekly)
See Also: The City Librarian Wants to Spend Almost $2 Million on a Rebrand. Don’t Let That Happen (via The Stranger; October 14, 2015)
See Also: “The Seattle Public Library Considers Name Change” (September 19, 2015)
Filed under: Libraries, News, Public Libraries

About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.