Tropical Makeover

After a “mildly delirious” process, West Palm Beach gains new ambience and attitude

By Pam Sandlian Smith -- Library Journal, 12/15/2006

In West Palm Beach, FL, the middle-class sibling of pricey Palm Beach, we've built a library with instant ambience: calming and tropical, welcoming and engaging. The colorful space contains smaller zones of books, computers, music, and DVDs. In the reading area, patrons sit by a floor-to-ceiling window that overlooks a brilliant waterway and the passing yachts and barges. Library staff comfortably dressed in tropical colors complete the picture, greeting visitors with a smile and a friendly but unintrusive offer to help. It's Florida hospitality.

“I love this library,” customers regularly report. Indeed, our visually stunning and engaging space has been matched by new use and support. Circulation has tripled, customer visits have doubled, and our budget has more than doubled since 1997. Library card registrations have climbed from 15,000 in 1997 to our current 79,343. (Part of this growth has stemmed from increased regional use based on a library card policy that allows anyone with proper identification to receive a library card.)

It hasn't always been that way. The West Palm Beach Public Library (WPBPL), in a sterile modernist building that opened in 1962, nearly closed in the early 1990s as funding slipped and the downtown declined. In order to turn the library around, we—staff and management together—knew we had to challenge the status quo. It wouldn't be enough to aim for traditional library excellence.

In 1998, the WPBPL team adopted the hospitality planning tool GASP! (graphics, ambience, style, and presentation). We made over our building's interior and our graphics and shifted our service attitude. We went from beige and boring to tropical, whimsical, and innovative—and we only spent $300,000 over four years.

Our makeover began after a mutual friend suggested I talk with Peter Robinson, president of the local firm Mildly Delirious Design (mildlydelirious@aol.com). “Oh my, you do need help,” he observed when he walked through the library on our first meeting. But he had a solution. He saw how the GASP! process he created for hotels, restaurants, events, and residential design could be adapted for the library. His immediate enthusiasm for the project and moderate consulting fee helped win the contract, and he soon instilled a sense of confidence that our project could succeed.

One of our first moves was to gather ten key staff stakeholders from the management team and reference librarians to wordsmith a vision of the perfect library. Adjectives included tropical, contemporary, approachable, innovative, casual, unexpected, and energetic. These ideas helped form a collective common vision—a word map for a comprehensive renovation.

While the transformation may seem to tie together effortlessly now, staffers recognize the work that went into it. Initially, some suggested that we simply paint and carpet the library, since anything would have been an improvement. But GASP! demands design discipline (yet remains fun).

The common vision we developed describes the library's ambience and extends to the general style, from the way staffers present themselves to our graphical sense. The initial process engaged the staff in four or five meetings to do our homework and discuss our adjectives. After we agreed on our word list, Robinson helped us develop the WPBPL concept statement: “A welcoming, tropical, contemporary library that merges innovation with tradition.” This established an 18-page manual of style.

The document guided us in advising architects, designers, and artists. If a piece of furniture, color, or graphic meets the word definition, it was adopted. If the new addition was not compatible, back to the drawing board. Among the things we decided to avoid: the color black (too formal), typical library furniture (not upbeat), and Times Roman typeface (not fresh).

The makeover began with the adult services area on the main (second) floor of our two-story, 34,000 square foot building. The existing reference and circulation desks were hidden on the perimeters of the main floor, so entering customers were instantly confused. We moved the desks to the center of the library to form a hospitality zone. We picked blue, ocher, and soothing greens for the columns, the carpet, and the walls to guide the eye to the breathtaking view of the Intracoastal Waterway. We chose patio and outdoor furniture—yes, for indoors—to connect with the tropical landscape. We found slow-moving rattan fans, typical of a Florida resort, for reading spaces.

Strategically placed tropical plants help accent the space, and we add fresh orchid arrangements weekly around the entry desk and reading areas.

With a footprint of 16,000 square feet and 20' ceilings, there were many eyesores that we needed to minimize, including old lighting, missing ceiling tiles, and old book shelving. As in personal style, it is always best to highlight your best feature, and the library's key asset is its million-dollar view of the waterway. We needed compelling carpeting to pull the eye toward that view, essentially creating an indoor/outdoor illusion. Though custom carpet wasn't cheap at $25 a square yard, plus installation, it was well worth both every penny and the struggle to convince our city purchasing agent to buy carpeting that wasn't listed on the Florida State Contract. The playful carpet contains a sea blue and green wave pattern interspersed with swimming goldfish.

That was just upstairs. With funding from a 2001 Florida Library State Aid grant for the ground-floor children's library, we chose the same carpet vendor to extend the tropical mood with complementary colors. Dancing dolphins created the sense of whimsy and energy necessary to entice children into the windowless “basement” library.

Kids and their caretakers first encounter a submerged mural of a coral sea; it provides a calming, nurturing environment for young readers. The children's reference desk doubles as the bow of a pirate ship, complete with built-in snorkeling goggles for a view into an undersea diorama.

Robinson designed the very approachable desk, a local mill worker built it, and a local artist painted it. Children competed in a naming contest and coined it Book-a-Neer. A small amount of creative lighting (fish pendants and indigo drop lights) instills a sense of aquamarine intrigue.

One huge challenge involved the rigidity of the stack area; the fixed poles support the main floor shelving, so they couldn't be moved. In order to gain space and integrate the area into the children's activities, Robinson cleverly opened up two spaces: one for a small theater where children can view videos and a second quiet space for homework and board games. We removed the shelves from the shelving poles and in the homework space, creating a built-in table between the poles.

Our unified yet playful graphics package lets us adapt logo and colors for print and web versions. But it wasn't easy to implement new graphics. We worked with three artists before Robinson recommended a Canadian freelancer who understood our vision immediately. Within weeks, she had produced an array of sample logos and signs that fit our philosophy and budget. We used her work to create signature signage and identify key service areas.

Staff used the GASP! concept statement as we developed our web site, our publications, business cards, newsletter, program flyers, and ads in our local newspaper. Our look is communicated in a professional, cohesive manner.

The graphics have evolved over a number of years—and as funding became available we have added additional elements. Each element builds upon our branding. I see people all over town—families, bicyclists, people in business clothing—all carrying our recognizable plastic bag, marketing the library for about 20¢ a bag.

A library must deliver more than a pleasing look; it has to work continuously to deliver great products, services, and programs. The WPBPL children's staff aim to help kids fall in love with books. They commandeered a dreary basement meeting room as their black box theater–like space. They stage impressive interactive theatrical book experiences for special occasions like summer reading or holiday programs.

It has been more of a challenge to establish the library as a place for adult programs. One huge success has been our Friday Night Jazz series, staged in the center of the reading area, against the backdrop of the lovely view of the Intracoastal. (Just before closing on Friday evenings, staff move chairs, and the circulation desk becomes a cash bar.)

Palm Beach Illustrated has compared it to the highly praised jazz concerts of the 1940s at the Los Angeles Philharmonic. While attendees savor jazz, they may also sip wine sold by a local wine merchant. The occasion draws crowds of 300–400 people, over 50 percent of whom have never visited the library. One library board member's father has lived in West Palm Beach all his life but had never set foot in the library. He attended one of the first of these events, got a library card, and now raves about the library, its programs, and services. We hear stories like this all the time.

Beyond new carpets and furniture, we've established a new attitude. Our management team has developed a customer service training package that draws on staff experiences in the hospitality field. We treat our customers as guests, welcoming them into our library as if it were our home.

In 2003, the management team visited the Ritz Carlton for a day of concierge training. After analyzing the Ritz customer service style, we decided it was too formal for us. We did, however, borrow the hotel's concept of a customer service card that communicates our expectations. The service guidelines help us train and mentor staff. The four basic steps of service are welcome your guest; be your best self; make the transaction happen; and say goodbye with warmth.

Reference librarians know that they are expected to come up with creative solutions to connect customers with information. This could mean picking up a book or DVD at a local bookstore on their lunch hour or on their way home to ensure speedy delivery of customer requests that we do not own. Circulation staff are authorized to waive fines up to $25 to help customers keep their accounts in good standing.

After visiting the Ritz-Carlton, we developed a new slogan, “The world's nicest library,” which is printed on our Customer Service Card. That's a lot to live up to, so we keep trying to improve.

When a library looks worn out, it can be more easily dismissed as inessential. If we want our public to take the library seriously, we have to respect ourselves enough to invest in regular physical maintenance and upgrades, fresh paint and colors, clean furnishings, and tidy surroundings.

At the same time, we must be better at service. Of course, that's much easier when we're proud of how our library has become appealing, welcoming, and lively.

When the library team presented the Mildly Delirious program at the Public Library Association conference in Boston in March 2006, we were overwhelmed by the enthusiastic acceptance by our colleagues. Whatever the size of library or budget, the process can work if the staff stay on focus regarding their “style” vision.

With an open mind, a collaborative team environment, a commitment to following your style definitions, and the help of someone with an eye for creative interior design, you too can have a “mildly delirious library.”