MSU Libraries Web Content Standards

Our voice

Our organization's "personality," is consistently expressed through writing or audiovisual content.

• intellectual, but welcoming
• professional, but casual and friendly
• bold and direct, but inclusive
• helpful and supportive, but not patronizing

Our tone

Depends on the audience and our content. For example, the tone of an announcement of a new service will be different than that of an announcement of the establishment of a fund in memory of a deceased colleague.

It is important to be consistent in how we refer to ourselves and what we do in our web communications.

Libraries

• Avoid:

  • MSU Library

• Use:

  • Mississippi State University Libraries
  • MSU Libraries

• Why?

  MSU's library system comprises several libraries and related entities.

• Avoid:

  • MML

• Use:

  • Mitchell Memorial Library

• Why?

  Acronyms can quickly lose their meaning, especially if the full name has not previously been used in a passage. Avoid using them, unless they are very well-known and widely understood (e.g., "MSU," "USA").

• Avoid:

  • OMAC

• Use:

  • Old Main Academic Center
  • Old Main

• Why?

  See previous. Also, as the Center's name recalls the historic Old Main dormitory, "Old Main" is a fitting shorter name for the facility, if one is required.

• Avoid:

  • US Grant Library
  • Grant Library

• Use:

  • Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library
  • Grant Presidential Library

• Why?

  Simply having a presidential library is a point of pride for any university, and we should refer to it respectfully.

• Avoid:

  • Architecture Library
  • Architecture Branch Library

• Use:

  • CAAD Library
  • Bob and Kathy Luke Architecture Library
  • Luke Library

• Why?

  We want to avoid using the word "branch" to refer to our libraries. The CAAD, CVM, Meridian, and Jackson Design Center libraries are somewhat more autonomous and specific than typical branch libraries; since users of the CAAD and CVM Libraries know them best by those names, they can take precedence over their "official" titles.

• Avoid:

  • Vet Med Library
  • CVM Branch Library

• Use:

  • College of Veterinary Medicine Library
  • CVM Library

• Why?

• Avoid:

  • Meridian Library
  • Meridian Branch Library

• Use:

  • Phil Hardin Foundation Libraries (MSU-Meridian)
  • Phil Hardin Foundation Library (MSU-Meridian College Park Campus)
  • Phil Hardin Foundation Library (MSU-Meridian Riley Campus)

• Why?

• Avoid:

  • Architecture 5th Year Library
  • Jackson Library
  • Jackson Branch Library

• Use:

  • Gertrude C. Ford Foundation Library (Jackson Design Center)
  • Gertrude C. Ford Foundation Library
  • Ford Foundation Library

• Why?

Services

• Avoid:

  • Card catalog
  • Enterprise
  • Sirsi
  • OPAC

• Use:

  • Online Catalog

• Why?

  "Card catalog" holds no meaning to students born long after library catalogs moved online. "Enterprise" and "Sirsi" both refer to the software that drives our ILS; neither have any meaning for patrons. "OPAC" is an outdated acronym that doesn't give the reader any clues about what it refers to.

• Avoid:

  • LibGuides

• Use:

  • Research Guides

• Why?

  "LibGuides" is the name of the software product that drives our research guides. It is not future-proof; if we change vendors in future, we would have to change how we talk about the guides to patrons.

Mississippi State University's Office of Public Affairs requires that all *.msstate.edu websites conform to the latest version of the University's visual identity and brand guidelines. These standards govern logos and their placement, official university colors, fonts, and more.

For MSU Libraries, this means: 

• All pages must contain the official University Libraries logo, placed prominently at the top left of the page and surrounded by at least ⅛ inch of protected clear space. The logo cannot be rotated, altered, recolored or disproportionately resized, and must be either maroon or white. See the University's guidelines for web usage.
• All pages must use the official MSU color palette, with the official maroon (#5D1725) as the dominant color.
• All sites must be built from a base Drupal template.