As avid users have already noticed, DU’s Penrose Library has a new website. The designers hope it is much more user-friendly for library patrons.
“We had new digital tools, search engines and social media platforms we wanted to offer, but there was no real estate on the front page of our old site,” says Carrie Forbes, a Penrose reference librarian and coordinator and project manager of the website design. “We had so much information on our front page that people were getting confused and frustrated.”
Forbes and the design team at Penrose wanted to change how the site was structured. The old site was organized around the hierarchy of the library; the new site is organized around its users — faculty, staff and students.
Users can hover over any category to find out what’s available to them.
“We didn’t want people to have to fit into our hierarchy,” says Bethany Sewell, Penrose access services librarian. “We just wanted to make sure they could find what they need.”
The site is also much more dynamic and lists new exhibits, events and information nearly daily. On the right rail of the site, visitors can find three blogs. “Penrose Pen” features information about what events are happening at Penrose. “Good Answers” features a question-and-answer section and “DUPedia” features historical information about DU.
“We are continuing to get feedback, but so far it’s been positive,” Forbes says. “We’ve had people comment that they’ve found things that they didn’t know we offered before.”
For a tour of the site, visit: library.du.edu/penrosepen/websitetour.