Fayetteville Public Library officials launched a new website this week.
The site, located at faylib.org, has been redesigned and reorganized in order to make things easier on library patrons.
“We’ve always wanted to change the website and make it more user-friendly, eye-appealing, and easier for our customers to navigate,” said interim executive director Lolly Greenwood. “I think people are going to like it a lot better.”
Library IT director Lynn Yandell said that he did most of the design and development of the new site himself, and that he still has improvements in mind.
“I’ve been working on it since February, off and on between my other responsibilities,” he said. “It’s nowhere near complete, though. I’m still working on adding more pages.”
The new design allows for a featured section to highlight special programs, upcoming events, and other happenings at the library on the homepage. The site also includes a full events calendar, as well as commonly-searched-for information like library hours, contact information, and address near the top of the page.
All of the library’s databases are searchable from the new site as well.
Yandell said that the site will allow patrons to access their library account, reserve books, and more.
“The real magic happens when you log in,” he said. “After that, everywhere you see a book’s jacket art, you’ll see a hold button to reserve that item. You can see what you’ve got checked out, get recommendations, and other cool functions.”
Yandell said the navigation was reorganized to incorporate more public-friendly terminology.
“I think before we had some terms that meant more to librarians than they did to the public,” he said. “One of my primary goals was to make the links meaningful for people.”
Another new feature is a list of mobile resources compatible with the library’s system.
Greenwood said that it’s too early to judge whether or not the new site will be a hit with patrons.
“We demonstrated it to the board yesterday, and they were very pleased,” she said. “It’s still so new, and I think people probably haven’t found it yet, but so far, feedback has been good.”
