Welcome to our New Look Web Site
Christchurch City Libraries Website
January 3, 2006
We’ve redesigned our website to try to make it easier and better for you to use.
Why?
We received a lot of feedback which told us that although people liked our site, they had some difficulty in finding what they needed from the site. So, we’ve tried to produce a site which will be easier to move around.
We also found out that many of our customers didn’t know about many of the online services we offered. We hope the new design will help people to become more aware of offerings like our databases, CINCH and localeye.
We have some new ideas about producing content and we needed a different look and structure to be able to do this.
How?
In 2004, we engaged Paul Reynolds of McGovern and Associates to work with us to think about how we work online and what it is that our customers want us to do. Paul consulted with a wide range of staff and site users and prominent web thinkers throughout New Zealand. He researched best practice here and overseas and towards the end of 2004, produced an online development strategy.
Christchurch City Council Management endorsed the approach Paul recommended and work began on implementation in the first quarter of 2005. This redesign is part of the work of this implementation.
The designs have been produced by McGovern and Associates and implemented by the Christchurch City Libraries web team.
What’s new?
Obviously the look is new and we have arranged the site differently. Most of the existing content is still there and we’ll keep adding great content.
Our online catalogue looks and acts a little differently. We’ve added some new search types and rearranged the search pages to help find things more easily. We’ve included best seller lists to help you select your reading.
Our localeye site (Christchurch and Canterbury online) is now more closely connected to this website.
Still to come
We hope to implement a number of new online features in 2006. These will include:
- a new search tool which enables you to search several or many of our databases at the same time
- ways in which you can set some personal preferences around your use of our website
- automatic emailing (if requested by you) of new titles and other listings
- inclusion of book cover pictures in our online catalogue
and more…
We hope you enjoy using the new website.
