The purpose of this study was to unobtrusively observe eight Southern New Jersey public libraries in eight different counties to discover if they were practicing the principles of good signage for the benefit of their patrons. A checklist of good signage criteria and ADA requirements was created and used to assess the libraries' signs. Principles of good signage and ADA signage came from prior studies. Using SPSS, frequency tables were generated for each question to show the signage percentages for the libraries in the study. The eight public libraries in the study rated well in the areas of signage design (typeface, spacing of letters, contrast, use of symbols, and color combinations), sign size, sequence and self-service, lighting, readability, effective and positive text, flexibility, and non-glare. Most libraries had at least one directory and signs to announce events taking place in the library. The libraries have poor signage issues, especially in signage consistency and ADA signage requirements. There was a lack of directional and identification signage, which may cause some patrons to ask repetitive directional questions.
","abstract_html":"<p>The purpose of this study was to unobtrusively observe eight Southern New Jersey public libraries in eight different counties to discover if they were practicing the principles of good signage for the benefit of their patrons. A checklist of good signage criteria and ADA requirements was created and used to assess the libraries' signs. Principles of good signage and ADA signage came from prior studies. Using SPSS, frequency tables were generated for each question to show the signage percentages for the libraries in the study. The eight public libraries in the study rated well in the areas of signage design (typeface, spacing of letters, contrast, use of symbols, and color combinations), sign size, sequence and self-service, lighting, readability, effective and positive text, flexibility, and non-glare. Most libraries had at least one directory and signs to announce events taking place in the library. The libraries have poor signage issues, especially in signage consistency and ADA signage requirements. There was a lack of directional and identification signage, which may cause some patrons to ask repetitive directional questions.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Simmons, Rachel"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"M.A. in School and Public Librarianship","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Special Educational Services/Instruction","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Shontz, Marilyn"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2005,"date_issued":"2005-05-15T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2005-05-15T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:13:58Z","subjects":["Library signs; Public libraries--New Jersey","Library and Information Science"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/1081","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Shontz, Marilyn"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Simmons, Rachel"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2016-04-19T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Special Educational Services/Instruction"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.A. in School and Public Librarianship"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Library signs; Public libraries--New Jersey","Library and Information Science"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/1081"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The purpose of this study was to unobtrusively observe eight Southern New Jersey public libraries in eight different counties to discover if they were practicing the principles of good signage for the benefit of their patrons. A checklist of good signage criteria and ADA requirements was created and used to assess the libraries' signs. Principles of good signage and ADA signage came from prior studies. Using SPSS, frequency tables were generated for each question to show the signage percentages for the libraries in the study. The eight public libraries in the study rated well in the areas of signage design (typeface, spacing of letters, contrast, use of symbols, and color combinations), sign size, sequence and self-service, lighting, readability, effective and positive text, flexibility, and non-glare. Most libraries had at least one directory and signs to announce events taking place in the library. The libraries have poor signage issues, especially in signage consistency and ADA signage requirements. There was a lack of directional and identification signage, which may cause some patrons to ask repetitive directional questions.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Directional, identification, and orientation signage in eight southern New Jersey public libraries"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Shontz, Marilyn"],"dc:creator":["Simmons, Rachel"],"dc:date.available":["2016-04-19T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The purpose of this study was to unobtrusively observe eight Southern New Jersey public libraries in eight different counties to discover if they were practicing the principles of good signage for the benefit of their patrons. A checklist of good signage criteria and ADA requirements was created and used to assess the libraries' signs. Principles of good signage and ADA signage came from prior studies. Using SPSS, frequency tables were generated for each question to show the signage percentages for the libraries in the study. The eight public libraries in the study rated well in the areas of signage design (typeface, spacing of letters, contrast, use of symbols, and color combinations), sign size, sequence and self-service, lighting, readability, effective and positive text, flexibility, and non-glare. Most libraries had at least one directory and signs to announce events taking place in the library. The libraries have poor signage issues, especially in signage consistency and ADA signage requirements. There was a lack of directional and identification signage, which may cause some patrons to ask repetitive directional questions.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/1081"],"dc:subject":["Library signs; Public libraries--New Jersey","Library and Information Science"],"dc:title":["Directional, identification, and orientation signage in eight southern New Jersey public libraries"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Special Educational Services/Instruction"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.A. in School and Public Librarianship"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:13:58Z"}