Web Site Redesign / Frequently Asked Questions
Below
is a short list of questions you may have about the revised Library web
pages. We hope that you enjoy the new look, new navigation, new organization
and new content !
Why did we change the Library web pages ?
The Wellesley College Library web pages were systematically evaluated and redesigned during the 2000 academic year by a group of Library staff, working with input from the entire College community. Among the many goals of the redesign work were 1) to ease navigation, 2) to improve organization of the information for users, and 3) to give the site a more contemporary look and feel. Most importantly, we have tried to reduce the number of layers required to find information to reduce the time (and number of "clicks") it takes to find needed information.
How did we change the Library web pages ?
The revised Wellesley College Library web pages consist of four main sections:
Catalogs - search the Wellesley College Library catalog, Boston area serials holdings, and gain access to hundreds of other library catalogs around the world.
Research resources - Wellesley College Library staff have personally selected and arranged these high-quality electronic resources alphabetically by title (A-Z), by subject categories, as reference sources, as a collection of government documents, and have even provided a consolidated web search page bringing together all of your favorite search engines.
Services - The Wellesley College Library provides many outstanding services including electronic reference (Ask Us), course reserves, interlibrary loan, and accepting purchase suggestions. Also, Library staff have areas of subject expertise and are available for research assistance and consultation.
About the Library - Easily accessible information about the Library hours, collections, locations, policies, staff, as well as the Friends of the Library activities and information. At the top of the home page is a jump list to frequently accessed pages, and at the bottom is a navigation bar pointing to major Wellesley College web sites associated with the Library.
This is an image of the current homepage (forgive the blurriness) :
The Library Web Group met once a week for over a year to discuss our Web pages and ways to make it more effective for users. The lack of a proper "home page" was our focal point in the decision-making process. What did our users want, and moreover what did they need ? We wanted the Library home page to act as a gateway to information, not as the source of information. For many reasons, especially accessibility, we did not use a lot of advanced technology. The new site does not included any graphics, but text; it will display on any operating system and in any browser.
The Library home page is the heart of the site's navigational structure. Each Library web page now has a link bar at the bottom of the page back to the Library home page, as well as the Wellesley College home page, Information Services, Knapp Media & Technology Center, College Archives and the Site Map.
How do I benefit from these changes ?
The most significant advantage of the new site is that it was created for accessibility, these pages help users to find basic kinds of information. For convenience, the major tools such as the Wellesley College Library Catalog, research resources, databases and indexes, and electronic journals are linked either directly from the home page or just one page down.
Who maintains the Library web pages ?
There is a small core group of Library staff who act as the "editorial board" for the web pages, however the actual editing is done by many staff throughout the entire organization. Please contact MacKenzie Stewart, the Library webmaster with any questions you have regarding the content of any Library web pages.
If you would like
to make a general suggestion or if you have a question or a comment regarding
the services provided to you by the Wellesley College Library, we'd like to
hear from you - please drop us a line. Include your email address if you would
like a response! We value your thoughts and look forward to hearing from you
- please use our Library
Web comment form.