POSITIVE LEARNING | ‘VIRTUAL’ FRONT DOOR
‘Virtual’ Front Door – the Library’s new website
SUSAN SENESE, Associate Librarian Research and Information Technology ServicesThe Library launched its new website Sept. 1. The site is the result of a development process based on gathering and analyzing the needs and expectations of the Library’s undergraduate users — its largest group of constituents.
The Library is the most popular physical space on the U of T Mississauga campus, and we wanted the ‘virtual’ front door to Library services and resources to be as enticing and welcoming as our physical space. We wanted the home page to reflect and provide immediate satisfaction to some of the high level needs of our students. Finally, we wanted the site to keep students engaged and curious enough that they would explore the virtual learning supports available to them 24 x 7 on our web pages. We strongly believe that if we could engage students on the Library’s home page – our ‘virtual’ front door – we could then draw them in further to discover the rich Library tools, services and resources available to them in support of their academic journey.
The Library website project kicked off with an in–depth survey sent to undergraduate students via the web tool SurveyMonkey. We received over 1,500 responses to the survey and, from it, we learned that students wanted quick and easy access to information such as Library hours and the availability of computer desktops, loaner laptops and study spaces in the Library. Students wanted to "chat" with us and with each other, and to easily find peers in their classes. Students wanted us to help them sell their textbooks and to easily identify their course reserve materials and past exams.
The needs and wants revealed through the survey and through indepth interviews with smaller student groups produced a long list of functional requirements that informed the new website’s design. Through a traceability matrix, the Library can trace the new functionalities of the website back to the expressed needs of undergraduate students. The new home page, provides immediate access to the Library catalogue, Library hours, our chat widget that enables live chat with Library staff, a twitter badge where we can provide immediate updates of breaking news in the Library, and applications that tell students how many laptops are available for loan and how many computers are available in our Learning Commons and classrooms. Course reserve and exam materials are clearly identified and accessible with a single click. We have also incorporated blogging and RSS feeds on the new website, allowing us to communicate more with students and bring them relevant external news. Web users can submit comments and feedback to the Library from the "About Us" section of the site.
The site was built using a powerful open source content management system called Drupal. Drupal has a strong social networking foundation that enables us to develop dynamic, interactive and engaging features. Our long–term vision is to build a site that can be personally customized by the user based on individual needs. Next steps in the ongoing development of this new website are to focus on the Library’s other major constituents – understanding the needs and expectations of the Library website from the perspective of faculty and graduate student users.
The Library welcomes comments and feedback about the new website. Submit your feedback via the "Contact Us" link in the top right-hand corner of the home page
