InformationAll PPLD facilities will be closed Monday, May 27, for Memorial Day.
PPLD.org, The Catalog, and wireless may also be unavailable as we run server updates.

Welcome to our NEW website!

Click here to tell us what you think!

Welcome to the NEW ppld.org!
Some new and improved features include:

  • Research Subject Guides
  • Find a Good Book
  • Search for location by Zip Code
importantThe Catalog and My Account are NOT affected by the new website.

Why are we doing this project?

  • PPLD has outgrown its website.
  • A new organizational structure needs to be implemented to accommodate PPLD’s needs, present and future.
  • Certain web technologies need to be implemented to optimally serve our patrons.

Project Objectives

  • Construct a website that reflects patron and staff needs, as determined by usability studies.
  • Construct a website that is easy to navigate, encouraging a positive Library experience.
  • Construct a website structure that will accommodate future Library online growth.
  • Implement best practices for highlighting features and services on ppld.org.
  • Implement a website that complies with accessibility and web design best practices.

Comments

It looks great! Very user

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 06/28/2010 - 8:51pm.

It looks great!
Very user friendly!

?

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 06/28/2010 - 2:58pm.

I thought the website looked interesting but needed a better color than brown.

comment on new website

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 06/28/2010 - 3:49am.

While there are many worthwhile links on the page, my first impression is that it is way too busy and cluttered.

Thanks for the input. We

Submitted by admin on Mon, 06/28/2010 - 12:47pm.

Thanks for the input. We realize there is more on the home page and have worked hard to keep it from appearing cluttered. But we do realize the change is a big one and initially may seem cluttered. However, we have a lot of services that need to be located on the home page.

The page is certainly busy.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 06/27/2010 - 9:52am.

The page is certainly busy. Hopefully it will be more helpful to those less familiar with the library.

Yeah, there is A LOT more on

Submitted by admin on Mon, 06/28/2010 - 12:44pm.

Yeah, there is A LOT more on the home page, but we have so many services we need to highlight we had to place more of them on the home page. We have tried to keep it as simple and uncluttered as possible while still retaining its design integrity. We've also conducted several usability tests and our test subjects have been able to find information easily.

re: new website

Submitted by M. (not verified) on Thu, 06/24/2010 - 9:38pm.

LOVING the new website. Much more user-friendly. More attractive!

NOT loving the SRP website.
1. There are many typos: ex: button's instead of buttons. There are no apostrophes in plurals.
2. http://ev.ppld.org/evanced/lib/eventcalendar.asp is easier to navigate in order to find activities at specific libraries. The listing format at http://more.ppld.org:8080/kids/SRP/2010/programs.asp makes it very difficult, as a parent, to figure out WHAT is going on at any library during a given week.

Thanks!

--m

Thanks for the input

Submitted by admin on Fri, 06/25/2010 - 4:07pm.

We're glad you like the new website and will fix the typos on the SRP site. We'll also try to clarify the programs. Thanks again for taking the time to give us your input.

We've looked at the SRP site

Submitted by admin on Mon, 06/28/2010 - 12:23pm.

We've looked at the SRP site and haven't found any typos. Can you send us a link to the page(s) with the typos, please?

Thanks!

new website

Submitted by Julie (not verified) on Thu, 06/24/2010 - 3:59pm.

The new website looks very user friendly and easy to navigate. I appreciate the Find A Good Book link. I'm sure my middle school kids will appreciate the Research Subject Guides once available. The site looks great! I have not had any complaints about the existing site, but the update looks promising.

New ppld.org ideas

Submitted by Eric (not verified) on Thu, 06/24/2010 - 3:02pm.

Hi,

I have a couple of ideas for the new site...

1) Perhaps add a link from items to view them on Amazon.com; that way people can see actual reader reviews, other recommended related books, etc.

2) The current catalog allows you to add an item to a 'list', but the list disappears after a short while, which seems to render it pointless. What would be great is if users could have a 'list' that they can build and save in their account. This way users can save many items they're interested in to their list, and simply place them on hold from there when they have some free time coming up to read, etc.

We're actually looking into

Submitted by admin on Fri, 06/25/2010 - 4:12pm.

We're actually looking into an "overlay" for the Catalog itself that will provide reader reviews and such. A link to amazon.com is a good idea as well. However, since our Catalog is provided by a vendor we have very little control over its features. Hopefully the overlay will provide more useful features.

We've also requested your second suggestion from our vendor. We hope it will be available in the next upgrade. It's a very popular suggestion.

Thanks for your input!

It was much easier to find

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 06/23/2010 - 6:25pm.

It was much easier to find what I was looking for (how to donate books) on the new site than on the current one. I think the layout, color scheme and design are much nicer too. Great job

Wonderful! A little dark,

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 06/21/2010 - 9:22pm.

Wonderful! A little dark, though...

Much much much better! This

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 06/21/2010 - 10:42am.

Much much much better! This site makes sense. The old one didn't. Nice job!

Thanks so much for the kind

Submitted by admin on Mon, 06/21/2010 - 1:57pm.

Thanks so much for the kind words!

Cheers,

Virginia

new website

Submitted by Heather Domangue (not verified) on Mon, 06/21/2010 - 8:02am.

I love the shades of brown that frame the website. They are much easier on the eyes than the current white whitespace...so to speak. I also like the fine picture of Garden of the Gods and Pikes Peak....nice contrast in colors and very eye catching.

In the "Find a Good Book" feature...the bookshelf look towards the bottom is smart. So many bookstores have gone to that type of look so it is wise to be similar to others in the industry. I'm a librarian myself....and so I know that we don't want our libraries to be bookstores....but bookstores are good at marketing themselves, so we are wise to model some of what we do on what has worked well for them.

Overall, the new site has a nice clean look and is far easier on the eyes. Well done.

new website

Submitted by admin on Mon, 06/21/2010 - 9:54am.

Hi Heather,

Thanks so much for the positive feedback! We like the book carousel on Find a Good Book too, although it has a few glitchy issues :-) I still think we'll use it, though. We're glad you like the website!

Search by zip code

Submitted by Karen (not verified) on Fri, 06/18/2010 - 3:59pm.

I like the zip search for a branch. Of the two it returns, however, it would be better if you put the nearest one first.

Keep up the good work!

Zip Code

Submitted by admin on Mon, 06/21/2010 - 9:51am.

Hi Karen,

You're right about that. It's kind of a tricky thing that the software doesn't do by default, but we're looking into some different methods and "modules" to accomplish this.

Thanks so much for taking the time to give us your feedback!

Virginia

Great Job!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 06/18/2010 - 2:16pm.

Great job!