January 12, 2012
We recently launched the new Robbins Library website here in good old' Arlington, MA, and the site has gotten rave reviews. We gathered analytics, listened to the staff at Robbins and implemented what we found into the designs, layout and the way we developed the site.
Library websites tend to be a bit like craigslist. Uninspiring, and about as interesting as watching reruns of Three's Company. There is nothing that a user can gravitate to. No pictures, no engagement. We wanted to take the library site from bland to engaging. How? Well, basically, we looked at the library's site not as a utilitarian reference book, but as a business. This means outreach, engagement and communicating directly with users of the site. We repositioned the site as something exciting to go to. Repeat visits to the site will get repeat visits to the library.
@RobbinsLib Clean design, nice typography, works great on my phone. The new site looks great. Congrats!
- A tweet from a happy user
Robbins had google analytics already installed on their previous site, so we were able to gather valuable data to guide us into a design. We found that there was a large amount of mobile traffic going to their previous website. This presented a challenge of creating a site that will work great for both desktop and mobile devices without having to create several different mobile sites. We utilized responsive design. This technique allows a site to "fold down" for mobile devices. The Boston Globe has recently relaunched using this css layout technique, and it is becoming the wave of the future for mobile-friendly websites.
Yes, they do whisper in my ear. What did they tell me? They said that people were also landing on the site looking for the library hours. Previously, they had been hidden deep in the recesses of the site, and were quite hard to find (trust me, as a user of Robbins Library, and also being kinda web-savvy myself, I had a hard time finding them). So the solution we came up with is not have to force people to dig into the site for the hours. Put them right on the homepage. Loud. Clear.
The previous Robbins website also had a search field. However, it searched the site, not the library catalog. After reviewing the data from the previous site's search, it was pretty obvious that people assumed that the search system was to search the catalog. It was only a site search. We decided to go ahead and integrate the search field into the Minuteman Library database and pull search results from the library catalog. Simple, easy and user friendly.
I'm not kidding. Working with the lab guys was beyond a successful venture. Collaborating with them was a springboard for our interactive renaissance. I'm talking about a public library website, people. Just think what they can do for you...
Catherine Kiah, Technology Librarian
We needed to improve the user experience on the new design. We decided to strip the site down. Add a clear roadmap on the homepage to all of the most popular sections of the website. We are now able to greet users on the homepage with what we found to be the most information most relevant to them. Events, hours, news.
But wait! There's more! With this website, you can also ask a librarian any question you want and get an instant response. Take a look in the bottom right of your browser window when viewing Robbins. See it? The little tab? Click it, and it turns into a Instant Message interface where you can type any question you might like to the librarian and of course you will get an instant answer.
We added social media to their site as well. You can now access all of the Robbins Library social media pages from any page on the site, as well as sign up for their email newsletter.
We are thrilled that the staff at Robbins is happy with their site and users are as well. As always, a blast to work with the folks there (looking at you Catherine), and hope to continue working with them to improve the library experience.