Bender Library premiered a redesigned website Aug. 2 in an attempt to help students research more efficiently.
The new website design offers new search options and makes old features more accessible and easier to find. The site now has a “search box feature” that is designed to be similar to Google's search box, according to Robert Reeves, the AU Library E-Resource applications administrator.
When students use the search box, results show both resources in the library and resources from the library’s collection of online databases. Students no longer have to do separate searches in the library catalog and electronic databases.
“It’s the closest thing to a unified search for resources,” Reeves said.
The search box feature had been in development under the company Serials Solutions for almost two years. The vendor continually updates the feature, according to Diana Vogelsong, associate university librarian and director of public and University relations.
“It’s a revolutionized way for libraries to provide resources,” Vogelsong said.
The subject guides section, a previous library feature, now lists available databases based on a specific topic and are compiled by librarians who specialize in the guide’s certain area, according to Tony Loffredo, Bender Library’s web developer.
Students can also subscribe to the subject guides’ RSS feed and receive a notification when a new database has been added to the guide, according to Loffredo.
Video tutorials on how to use some of the new features on the library website are also now available.
Other older features such as “ask a librarian” are easier to find and use. Students can chat online with a librarian to ask specific questions and get a response through this tool. The new design better highlights the feature and allows students to chat directly from the library website.
Comments in the website’s suggestion box and usability testing in the next couple of months will allow the library to gain student feedback and make changes in the spring, according Loffredo.
ascalamogna@theeagleonline.com
