Falvey’s New Web Site and Catalog

In August the Library launched a new web site and a new catalog interface. The library web team prepared for this launch over the past twelve months. The main objectives of the redesign process were usability, aesthetics and integration with the University’s overall web design. 

A group of students and faculty tested the functionality of the new web site over the summer. New features include a Question Center that encourages University members to post and answer questions similar to the Yahoo Answers model. 

The new catalog interface, a bold departure from the previous library catalog, is based on the open source VuFind. Not only does it look very different, it also has many new features, such as book covers, links to book reviews, personal tags and favorites. Search results can be narrowed by a number of faceted categories that are designed to help in the research discovery process. Lists of similar items are presented on the record page. 

The Advanced Search screen has options for the more demanding researcher, and a link to the “good old VUCat” search interface can be found on the main catalog page for those who prefer using the former catalog. 

Please contact us if you have any comments on these new interfaces. Your input is much appreciated and will help us improve our design. Contact Joe Lucia, University Librarian, or Ask a Librarian.

Contributed by Jutta Seibert