Our website was difficult to navigate. Like many libraries, we used jargon in our navigation and content, making it difficult to find even books, much less all the surprising things the library has to offer. In the middle of our web redesign, COVID-19 happened, making our digital offerings even more vital to our patrons. The pandemic challenged us to adapt to rapidly changing needs and think outside the box to serve the community in new ways. Since patrons couldn’t come to us, our challenge was to bring the library to them.

We asked, “How do we serve our community in this virtual world? How do we do it better?” We responded by updating our:

• Purpose and mission to guide our programming and services.
• Logo to represent starting a new chapter, setting off on a new adventure or sparking curiosity.
• Website to offer moments of discovery for unexpected things, while improving ways to explore the familiar.
• Events and programs to virtual platforms, meeting the challenges of the COVID world.
• Programming guide to reflect our community.

Our defined mission and vision enable us to focus our efforts to deliver targeted services that meet the unique needs of our community. Our new site went live In July 2020. That month, new visitors increased 11% year-over-year. Our average clicks per visit were up 150%! Visitors scrolled further on the homepage, increasing discovery. The visibility of new content is driving users to explore more.

Visits to services that were buried on the old site exploded:

• Readers Advisory up 102%.
• Virtual Escape Rooms up 234%.
• CreativeBug up 45%!