Write everything in plain language. Yes, only policies are required to be written in plain language by law, but be kind to your patrons by writing all communications using plain language principles. Need to create a form? Use plain language. Have to remind patrons of a library rule? Use plain language. Announcing an upcoming event on social media? Use plain language. Make plain language a habit. Your patrons will thank you.
Young patrons
Patrons who speak English as a second language
Patrons with learning and cognitive impairments
Convey your message, not your greatness.
Patrons should not feel ostracized by your use of grandiose verbiage in describing the whys and wherefores of your orderly system of controlling the chaos within the library environment. You may see the library as an institution of great learning, but writing basic information in a way that proves to all who read it that you are greatly learned may mean that those still trying to attain such learning cannot ever hope to do so.
Patrons who are overly stressed
Sleep-deprived parents - or students - or just poor sleepers
Parents with children vying for their undivided attention
Bereaved patrons
Homeless patrons
Make the message clear enough to be seen through the mental fog.
We all have moments in our lives where things are just not going as well as we would like. Or moments when we just cannot stop our train of thought to focus on a new sign or list of rules and procedures. Stress and emotions and life's distractions can easily overwhelm our ability to think clearly.
Patrons with social anxiety disorders
Patrons who are unfamiliar with the library setting and its rules
Patrons who are uncomfortable asking for help
Patrons who grew up in a culture where free libraries were not even a thing
Be clear and to the point, but be gentle.
Patrons may feel uncomfortable in the library for all kinds of reasons. You have chosen to work here because the setting speaks to you positively. However, not everyone has had positive experiences within the library setting. Help calm patrons' anxieties and fears by posting helpful, clear, to the point, but reassuring messages about how to navigate the library environment. Clear and to the point does not have to be abrupt, rude, or "yell-y."
Patrons who need to catch public transit
Patrons who are overworked
Patrons who see time as money
Get to the point.
Don't make your patrons spend time just trying to find your point. Time is precious and wasting it with overly wordy instructions is inexcusable no matter how you feel about the root cause of a patron's rush. Interested patrons can ask for more information if they are curious about the whys behind your point.
Your employees deserve a break too. When writing rules, procedures, and processes, make it clear, concise, and easy to understand.
If employees are having to struggle to understand the basic concept of how to do their job, they will cost you time, money, and possibly heartache. Employees who cannot follow the manuals as they are written cannot properly do their jobs. If they are not do their jobs properly, those tasks will have to be repeated to be corrected. That means twice the time spent on a task which means twice the money paid to those employees for performing those tasks. If employees cannot perform their jobs appropriately, someone will likely complain to management (possibly you). That means you will have to field the complaint and try to settle the matter and calm the patron. Then, you will have to discuss that complaint with the employee and determine how to keep future complaints from happening.
All that lost time and money could have been avoided by instructions written in Plain Language.