New Website Features
Based on customer feedback and usage statistics, the most used resources are now the easiest to locate.
- Books, Movies and Music now included in main navigation at the top of each page
- Simplified search
The most helpful tools are found in the right column on every page
- Translation tool
- Text resize tool
- Various ways to get help from a librarian
- Most frequently asked questions
- Locations and hours (your favorite branch will be remembered after selected once)
Interact with your community through the Library's social media tools
- The Library’s blogs highlight our diverse and knowledgeable staff
- Subscribe to your favorite content via RSS
- Follow DPL via Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Vimeo, YouTube and MySpace
- Visual search aid
- Create and share lists
- Write and read reviews
Various ways of searching for what you’re looking for
- Simple navigation at the top of each page
- Powerful site search
- Simplified site map at the bottom of each page
Comments
I concur that the upgrade is more of downgrade to me. Today was the first day that I could actually open the lists of holds, checked out, etc. I use Prospector alot and now I cannot even open the Prospector link to see the name of the book due or on hold! An upgrade would have been to list the name of the book and put the author as Prospector. I also agree that losing the ability to renew multiple books at once is a downgrade. While I understand you can't make everyone happy, the use of these functions PLUS more stuff would have been better enhancement. I use the library ALOT (often have 100 books checked out on various topics) and these changes are going to make it a lot tougher to know what to return and when.
The new site is horrible. It is terribly slow, and it relies on Flash, which makes it unusable on any device that does not support Flash. This new site has the appearance of a generic site sold by some company to a dozen libraries and not suited to DPL at all.
The pages are too cluttered.
Please add a way to check an items position on the wait list.
Several house hold members have library cards cards.
After I check one cards due dates that card pops up again instead of a blank space to type in a new card. Got to jump through hoops to get to a new account.
To me it looks like a comercial web site created to sell to libraries by a company. Very unintuitive. The old site was easy to use, very intuitive.
Progress inn't progress if you have to go around the block to get to the place next door, eh!
I also use and check the hold list at least twice a week. Very dissatisfied with the new site. A very much used tool for so many people was taken away. How user friendly is that? AND the LOGIN screens!!! I have logged in to my account and from there, every link is another login. How annoying. Before you give us the "new" techy things like facebook, how about going back and getting us the tools we actually use. Really hope you are taking our feedback seriously.
While I like the effort and general look/feel, not being able to view your place in the hold list is a big step backwards, as is the pop-up window to sign into your account.
The discover section is useless and confusing and a waste of space.
The old website was just fine. This new webpage is not userfriendly at all. I can't cancel holds. New pages open up when I click on my account. Please bring back the old page.
The innablity to cancel or view position of holds is the biggest issue I have with the new system. Not to mention the fact that the new system has been up since Wednesday and nothing has changed to correct these problems as of yet. As someone who uses his library account primarily to hold items, I fear that this issue will not be resolved.
I have to agree with some of the negative comments about the redesign. I appreciate the effort to modernize the site but overall my impression is not very positive. The look is depressing, pages are cluttered and slow to load. In fact, the My Account page appears to be broken as only the frame of the page loads right away and the login popup takes for me, 18 seconds to show and I'm on broadband!
It's no longer possible to sort checked out items by title or due date. Inside My Account clicking Lists, Tags, Rating or Reviews asks me to sign in again (I thought I was?!) but not with my card number. The popup for "Login to My Discoveries" is confusing. I already have a library account - is this a separate account that's needed?
The search results seem cluttered: title and author are run together on the same line, there is too little white space to separate items.
Why do so many of the links open in new windows?
I actually miss the news column. I understand why it was removed but I still miss it.
Were there any usability studies done?! When you have to explain how to use the site with movies and blog posts then something has gone wrong.
Why does each link have to open a new window? That's really annoying.
I can't access my account on line now. Remember the old saying ... if it ain't broke, don't fix it?
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