As observant users have already noticed, we have a new website! The old one, while comfortably familiar, needed more than a facelift to complement the W&M site. So it was that more than a year ago, a small army of library staff, students, and faculty began our redesign effort.
We wanted our site to reflect how people actually use web sites, so you'll find that the new structure is organized around the services we offer and the research tools students and faculty regularly use rather than on traditional departments like Circulation and Reference. In order to highlight more of what makes Swem unique and to showcase new resources, we added the Exhibits, Spotlight, and News & Programs sections.
Works of usability guru Jakob Nielsen; Don't Make Me Think, by Steve Krug; and Letting Go of the Words, by Janice Redish -- and lots of coffee -- inspired our efforts.
Throughout the creation of the site we conducted usability tests among students, faculty, and others and will continue to do so as the site matures and improves.
The designers hope our new website is user friendly and easy for you to find what you need.
We welcome your comments and suggestions.
