Why deface library books by writing notes in the margins when you can use the trendy, new sticky notes provided by AU's Bender Library?
That was one of the ideas behind the sticky notes the library started providing students four years ago, according to Jonathan Silberman, design specialist of AU's library. However, this year, all your sticky-note needs can be done with style.
The library put out the new Silberman designs at the beginning of the semester. There are four designs: a monkey, a ninja, a robot and a pirate, all of which were "chosen because of their pervasiveness in popular culture," Silberman said.
Rebecca Mary Regan, a sophmore in the School of International Service, describes herself as "an avid Post-it user" who enjoys the practicality of sticky notes but was impressed by images she had never seen on notepaper before. Her personal favorite is the robot, which is illustrated with books shooting out of its eyes.
Since their debut four years ago, the sticky notes have been "very popular because of their practicality," Silberman said. But once they ran out, the look of the library had changed. A new campaign brought with it trendy posters, cups and other gizmos - it was time for a sticky-note redesign as well.
"We started with the monkeys, that lead to the robot, that lead to the ninja and, of course, that in turn lead to the pirate," Silberman said, describing the process of choosing popular images.
"Students seem to gobble them up," said Elliot Lyons, monitor specialist at the library and a College of Arts and Sciences graduate student. In fact, the library has printed 2,500 of each pad, 10,000 total, in anticipation of the note pads' popularity.
Although Lyons could not say definitively which design was more popular, he said that his favorite is the robot.
Silberman started working in Bender Library while completing his undergraduate degree in graphic design. He has been the library's design specialist for almost a year and half. Originally employed as a library monitor, Silberman was hired as a specialist to design all the posters, mouse pads and cups that the library gives away.
