Founded in 1803, Scoville Memorial Library (SML) in Salisbury, Connecticut, is the country’s first public library. As SML prepared for a capital campaign and major renovations, we needed to develop a brand that helped re-energize and affirm this historic institution’s modern relevance and prominent role in an evolving town.

As we got to know SML, we saw that the library’s most important offerings are not transactional, but relational. The library is facilitating what is meaningful to this community — connection to neighbors, ideas and experiences in a beautiful building that represents town pride.

The brand we developed seeks to both honor and reinterpret heritage in a way that makes the library accessible across age groups, and fosters belonging, community enrichment and engagement. It represents how SML connects people through place, and provides opportunities for ideas to become inspirations that add value to the town.