With so many ways for customers to interact with the library’s website, the online experience had grown fragmented. Ineffective technology, architecture and design were hampering customer growth and engagement because it didn't meet their expectations. So, the Marketing and Digital Strategy team built a unified, seamless experience ⁠— a true "digital branch" personalized for each individual user.

We designed a personalized experience inspired by the contemporary atmosphere of our buildings. Key innovations include a custom search integrated with the ILS, unique landing pages for each branch and department (giving staff an online home to manage on their own), an algorithm pushing personalized suggestions for both materials and events (made possible by our new open source application we've named Intercept), strikingly effective architecture and a diverse staff-led "Web Advisory Team" collaboratively supporting development.

Since its launch, the new site has seen direct traffic increase by 187% ⁠— indicating high brand awareness ⁠— without a drop in organic traffic (SEO). Overall, we've seen a 65.5% increase in unique user visits to the website. Digging a bit deeper, the NEW USER counts have increased by 71.7%. What we've found is that three of the top 10 pages are those new location landing pages where staff generate their own content (blogs, events, reading lists, etc.) specific to their unique neighborhoods and communities.