Infographics or Visual Storytelling: Perspectives in Librarianship

Abstract

The paper analyzes and emphasizes the advantages of infographics, an increasingly influential technique for visual summarization of statistical data, advertising, education, and graphic storytelling of various stories with socially responsible topics. The characteristics of the modern cyber environment in which infographics have found a noticeable application are highlighted: the overflow of users with different information, the need to summarize them and the dominance of the visual over the textual narrative, as well as the physiological functioning of the brain system, which is characterized by the dominance of the sense of sight and more efficient memory of picture than text called the picture superiority effect. The application of infographics in librarianship is considered through the descriptions of several selected examples of infographics that effectively represent specific aspects of library work on the Pinterest portal. First, the graphical solution of the statistical annual report is presented, then a step-by-step guide to information literacy for students, guidance on using the card catalog from the 1930s, and finally posters pointing to plagiarism, promotion of cooperation between libraries and teachers, and a useful technique called close reading. For librarians who are interested in infographic design, guidelines have been offered for creating effective solutions in the opinion of three experts: Edward Tufte, Randy Krum, and Istok Pavlović. The guidelines refer to the clarity, precision, effectiveness and simplicity of design solutions, the structure and intriguingness of the story, as well as attracting attention (the 5-second rule), evoking emotions, and the use of visual metaphors. The necessary tools and free design platforms are also indicated. The aim of this paper is to encourage librarians to think about the visual motifs of representativeness and library marketing, to be creative and above all authentic.