TO:SAN JOSE PUBLIC LIBRARY COMMISSION
FROM: Carol Frost
SUBJ ECT:LIBRARY WEBSITE REDESIGN UPDATE
DATE: August 3, 2011
Approved
Date
COUNCIL DISTRICT: City-wide
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the Library Commission accept this report on the San José Public
Library’s website redesign update.
OUTCOME
The Commission will understand the library’s website redesign, continued improvements and
updates, and its affect on services.
BACKGROUND
When the joint Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library opened in August, 2003, San José Public
Library and San Jose State University jointly developed a website, sjlibrary.org. After several
years, the two organizations began investigating a redesign of the site, and in that process,
decided to build two separate sites geared toward their users’ unique needs.
In fall, 2010, both organizations launched their respective individual sites. The new San José
Public Library website is sjpl.org, and the new SJSU website is library.sjsu.edu. The two
organizations also collaborated on a new joint portal site, which retained the original joint site
address, sjlibrary.org.
The library catalog, at catalog.sjlibary.org, did not change. It includes all items owned by the
university library and the public library, and is accessible from the public library site, the
university site, and the portal site.
The Library Commission received an update in October, 2010, prior to the launch of the
redesigned site on November 15th, 2010. The following report will discuss six months of usage
data about the new San José Public Library website.
SAN JOSE PUBLIC LIBRARY COMMISSION
August 3, 2011
Subject: Libr ar y Website Redesign Update
Page 2
ANALYSIS
The new sjpl.org website serves as the digital branch for the system, and offers all of the services
that one might find by walking into a library. The website features a simple interface with six
color-coded areas (books and media, downloads, services, research, news and events, locations)
designed to provide users with quick, one-click access to the library’s online resources and
information.
Website Usage Statistics
As expected, after the launch of sjpl.org, the number of site visitors fell dramatically compared to
the number of site visits to sjlibrary.org as the two user groups (public and students / faculty)
split up between the two new sites.
January to June 2010
sjlibrary.org 3,301,296 visits
Total Shared Site
3,301,296
January to June, 2011 – adjusted to deduct referred visits
sjpl.org
891,616 visits
library.sjsu.edu
314,452 visits
sjlibrary.org
1,517,557 visits
Total
2,723,625 visits
This represents a 17% overall decrease in the website hits.
Specifically, for sjpl.org, site visits for the past six months were as follows:
January
February
March
April
May
June
Average hits/month
243,924
279,110
316,345
304,923
301,094
306,927
292,054
Note that site visits stabilized after an initial decrease, indicating that public library customers
have learned about the new site and are using it regularly. Another issue of interest is that the
joint portal site continues to receive a high number of visitors, so marketing efforts must also
address the portal to be truly effective. Collaborative content development with SJSU will
continue to be an important element of any website updates.
The three most visited pages after the homepage that saw the most visits during the first six
months are as follows:
1. /locations – branch locations and open hours information
2. /kids – includes homework help, research guides, and reading lists
3. /media – books, media, and details on circulating materials
LIBRARY COMMISSION
August 3, 2011
Subject: Libr ar y Website Review
Page 3
These closely match the popular pages on the old site, demonstrating that customers are able to
find their desired content consistently from the old site to the new. Specifically, on the old site,
the top two pages were referrals to the catalog, and then the kids page, and then the locations
page.
While consistent access to popular pages was critical in the redesign, a key goal for the new site
was to increase exposure to the library’s various digital resources by exposing these materials so
that they are accessible with just one click. In just the first month the site was live, visits to
specific pages increased dramatically. For example, the downloads page, which includes
information on browsable and downloadable digital content, saw a 292% increase in traffic
compared to the prior month. The research page, which includes links to various library
databases, saw a 30% increase. Other pages that saw significant increases are noted below:
•
•
•
•
•
Get a Library Card page up 211%
Donations page up 290%
Kids Homework page up 77%
Bond Libraries page up 113%
New Titles pages all up (eBooks up 1,847%, music up 550%, eAudioBooks up 1,273%,
Fiction up 211%, DVD up 529%, Vietnamese up 97%)
Visits to these pages have continued to remain higher over the past six months compared to the
old site.
User Feedback Survey Results
During December, 2010, the first month after the site went live, a user feedback survey was
conducted on the site to gauge the effectiveness of the redesign. 54% found that finding the
information needed on the new library website to be easier; 33% found it harder, and 13% felt it
was the same. 62% felt that the design was an improvement; 29% found it worse, and 9% found
it the same. 71% of respondents said that they would recommend the site to a friend.
Some select positive comments from respondents:
•
•
•
•
I never knew I could get electronic audio books from the library. Keep adding new stuff!
The new organization took me a while to get used to, but it's so much easier to find things
now. I use the e-books and the homework tutoring for my son the most often and those
are so much easier to locate now. Fewer steps to get there.
This is awesome. Well-designed and beautiful!
I am so impressed with your new website. It looks great! It is so user friendly with TONS
of great resources! The site is so professional! I love the contact page too.
Since this survey has been conducted, the site has been up for seven months, and comments and
questions about the new site have dramatically decreased.
SAN JOSE PUBLIC LIBRARY COMMISSION
August 3, 2011
Subject: Libr ar y Website Redesign Update
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Website Content
As with any website, sjpl.org is a rapidly evolving, dynamically changing site. The new site was
designed to enable rapid content development by all staff, so staff are able to update web content
directly rather than ask the Web Team to make content changes. All staff have the ability to
create blog entries on the site. Staff are blogging book reviews, program updates, research tips,
and library related news. Staff are also able to embed videos and podcasts in their blog entries.
To date, staff have posted 1360 blog entries, an average of 97 posts per month.
The new site also features the library’s various social media presences on the lower portion of all
of the pages so customers can easily follow the library on Facebook or Twitter, and get updates
to the library’s Flickr photo sharing account, vidcasts, and podcasts. Moreover, customers can
easily choose how to be updated of site changes – via RSS or email, and select from various
updates about new library materials, programs, and services.
Website Content Advisory Team
To support collaborative and inclusive decision-making, the library has established the Website
Content Advisory Group to serve as a forum where web development, suggestions and
management issues are raised, discussed, and evaluated. The team consists of representatives
from a variety of units and service levels.
The Team has already evaluated requests for content changes from the public, staff, and the
system-wide Friends Group to improve their online presence with incremental improvements to
their online directory, and are exploring additional enhancements and digital projects.
Pride of San José Innovation Award
The San José Public Library Web Team and Information Technology units were recognized by
the City of San José with a Pride of San José award for the Innovation category in a ceremony in
January for the new website.
Conclusion
The San José Public Library now has a distinct, stand-alone digital branch, which can be a
springboard to meet the technological expectations and standards of our high tech community.
The digital branch will be further enhanced this next fiscal year by program offerings, such as
online book club, discussion forums, reading list suggestions, and other readers advisory
services. Rich multimedia tutorials on using our digital resources are also being planned to fully
extend the library’s customer service model to the e-branch.
EVALUATION AND FOLLOW-UP
This is a staff report provided to the Library Commission.
LIBRARY COMMISSION
August 3, 2011
Subject: Libr ar y Website Review
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/s/
Carol Frost
Division Manager, Library Department
For questions, please contact Carol Frost, Division Manager, at (408) 808-2048.