Our Website Gets a Facelift

If you clicked through from the Rowan Libraries Home Page you will have noticed we have a new look. Changes are designed to improve the presentation of information; most of the information previously found on the right side of the page is now available on the left. Simply mouse over the menu for additional choices. Importantly, these changes are minor and temporary; but we have some big news.

We are working hard on a next generation Website, to be released this September. It will be vastly improved and we think you will really like it. Based on an open source content management system, it will allow for far more timely and informative information delivery. The site will include new Web 2.0 advances with feeds and customizing components and specialized user portals to finely tune the delivery of information. For instance, a Government Materials portal and a Music Library portal will present specialized information relevant to user's special needs and a faculty portal will present information from the instructor's perspective. For all users assistance will also be available in a more contextualized way in order to improve user understanding and enhance the use of selected information.

Advances in the delivery of information through our next generation service will ensure that students and faculty learn about the many resources we make available and about new resources and services as they are added. Users will be able to take advantage of online tutorials and instructional vignettes on an as needed basis, and use new resources such as Refworks to help present information in an efficient and correct manner.

We will be looking for feedback and for ideas about how we can improve our new site. If you have ideas about what you would like to see, email the Dean, or add comments to this page. In August a Beta version will be put up and input will be looking for comments, suggestions and input. In the fall the new site will be up and ready and we are sure the next gen site will be user focused, east-to-use, and informative.