Brand foundation

Source: Brand Style Guide v0.1, Part I (trlibrary.com/brand).

Brand story

The Library is rooted in a place, a person and a purpose. In Medora, the landscape that shaped Roosevelt becomes the setting for a new kind of presidential library, one that looks to the past to help people face the future.

It is a people's library. Roosevelt is not the destination; he is a guide. It is a place to learn with and from T.R., not only about him.

Mission

Explore TR's life, legacy, and enduring relevance.

His life becomes a lens for exploring leadership, citizenship and conservation, and for asking what it means to live with purpose.

The mission is quoted as written in the Brand Style Guide. In running copy, apply house style: T.R. with periods.

Vision

Inspire action and fearless participation in the arena.

Move people from reflection to action: off the sidelines and into the arena.

Values

Dare Greatly. Think Boldly. Live Passionately. Care Deeply.

• Dare Greatly: the courage to try.
• Think Boldly: looking beyond the immediate, imagining what is possible.
• Live Passionately: embracing life with energy and purpose.
• Care Deeply: taking responsibility for people, places and ideas beyond ourselves.

These are the Library's official Values. They are not T.R. quotations. Never put them in quotation marks or attribute them to him.

Pillars

• Leadership: not holding authority, but stepping forward and taking responsibility. The Library does not prescribe a model of leadership; it helps participants find their own.
• Citizenship: a responsibility, not a title, practiced every day.
• Conservation: Roosevelt's conservation legacy, carried forward through prairie restoration, sustainable systems and a building designed to work with its environment.

Conservation figures (acres, numbers of forests, refuges, monuments) are historical claims. Source each one before publishing; see Accuracy and approvals.

Ten storytelling tenets

Not every tenet applies to every story, but consider all of them.

1. Inspire action in the arena. Equip people to learn, care, think and act. The end of a visit is the beginning of their journey.
2. The participant is the hero. Roosevelt is the guide.
3. Stories come to life. Beyond "show, don't tell" to "do, don't tell."
4. Nature is fundamental. Draw people inside to encourage them to go outside.
5. Engage head, hands and heart. Learning, action, and love and loss.
6. The people's library. Home to many stories, not one.
7. Lessons are for today and tomorrow. Engage the positive and the problematic.
8. Worthy of its presidential stature. Engaging, never an amusement park.
9. Celebrate the old, embrace the new. New technology alongside analog craft.
10. Humanize, don't lionize. Face the contradictions directly. There is no "their side" or "our side."

Audiences

Global and intergenerational, with the local community at the heart of the work. The Library aims to be part of the fabric of Medora and to support local businesses and partners.

Key audiences: families and travelers planning trips to Medora; educators and students; Benefactors and prospective Benefactors; corporate and nonprofit partners; media; government officials; and the Roosevelt scholarly community.

"Participant" is intentional. It describes an active role, not a passive audience. See the editorial style guide.