Videos, new banners and pictures, chat reference, expanded news and feature content, and improved cross-database searching: these are just a few of the many new features launching this term in the library's completely re-designed website.
In order to improve the site's design, the library turned to its users, conducting a series of focus groups with faculty and students in order to find out which parts of the old site were working and which ones weren't. We learned that many users wanted to see a more visually appealing website, with more pictures and less empty space, and that others found the terminology and organization of the site to be confusing. We also discovered that users simply didn't know about many of the features of the old library website because they were hidden several clicks away from the homepage.
In response to user input, we've changed the terminology and organization of the site in order to make it easier for users to find and use its features. For example: everything you need to find and access articles from library databases can now be found in one place--the Find Articles page--instead of being spread across several different pages. Tips on how to use the library website are now located in context on all library pages, so users no longer have to hunt through separate help pages in order to answer common questions about how to access databases from off-campus or how to request a book via interlibrary loan. We've also added subject-specific search boxes on the new Research by Subject pages, which target several databases on the same topic at once. In addition, the library hours now appear on the homepage, along with news and feature content intended to keep the North Central College community informed about what's going on at the library.
You've probably already noticed that the new library website looks very different from the old one. We've added several pictures to the site's layout--all of which rotate whenever any page refreshes, to help prevent the site from looking too plain. We've also begun uploading video content to the site.
We'd very much like to hear your thoughts on the new design and its features--please drop us a line.
Call us: (630) 637-5715
