Library launches better website

KRL aims for easier, more effective access to information.

The Kitsap Regional Libraries system has unveiled a redesigned website, to make library resources easier to access.

“We want to make it easier for people to get information,” said KRL Director of Information Technology Susan Whitford, who supervised the redesign.

“We want the features organized in a way that makes sense to people, and that makes access to information easier and more effective.”

The new site, which has been in a semi-public test for a few months, was scheduled to go live on Tuesday. It kept its Internet address, www.krl.org.

KRL is encouraging people to use the new web site, and expect the public will immediately appreciate its improvements.

At the same time, people will need to be patient about any glitches.

“We have the site going live on Dec. 4 because we said we would,” said KRL spokesperson Susan Rosapepe. “But anything that starts new will have some bugs in it. So people shouldn’t expect everything to be completely perfect.”

While an improved web site will make it easier for patrons to access information – especially during extreme weather conditions such as this week’s heavy rain – KRL does not expect it to take the place of the brick and mortar libraries.

“We are trying to move ahead into the information age with as many tools as possible,” Rosapepe said. “People will use the web site as an entry point but it is not a replacement for our libraries.

“We will always have real libraries with real librarians,” she said.

The web site redesign has been going on for about six months under the direction of Applications System Administrator Laurie Corsi. Rosapepe said the development was done in house, and did not cost any additional money beyond Corsi’s salary.

KRL could not supply any user numbers, or determine the rate of increased web site use over the last few years.

However, the ability to count visits will be available in the new software.

“We will be able to determine how many people are visiting each page,” Rosapepe said. “So we will be able to tailor the service to what people want.”

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