Library board previews new website; staff asks public to ‘kick the tires’ before launch

Los Alamos County Library staff showed board members a near-final redesign of the library website and asked the board to review links and submit feedback through a tracking form before staff push the site live later this month.

The website demonstration focused on a mobile-friendly layout, an events page that staff plan to connect to the library’s LibCal system, and improved pages for catalogs, branches and digital collections. “This is the new library website, and it's still a little bit in the works, but we're getting closer to being finished,” said Danielle, a library staff member who led the demonstration.

Board members raised navigation questions and suggested clearer labels for digital services. Michelle, a library board member, asked whether a monthly calendar view would be available; Danielle answered that the events page will link to LibCal and staff are trying to integrate a calendar-style view. Several board members recommended changing labels such as “eResources” or “Research and learning” to make it clearer to people who are less familiar with library terminology.

Danielle asked board members to test links and to report problems into a single feedback form rather than emailing staff directly. She said staff will send the review link to board members and to library staff to gather additional comments. She also noted some pages remain under development, including the Library of Things and certain spaces-and-services pages, and that hooks to the county website and social media will be added before launch.

The new site includes direct links to digital services (Hoopla, Libby, Canopy), and Danielle demonstrated branch call-outs that open a Google map for each location. Board members asked that commonly used items, such as Hoopla, be more visible from the homepage and discussed trade-offs for menu and mobile navigation.

Danielle told the board staff want volunteers to test the site; she said a volunteer sign-up will be included in the board’s monthly summary and that the staff will create a special feedback form to allow people without county accounts to submit comments.

Board members also asked about integration with county systems and whether job postings and county links will be present; Danielle confirmed a jobs area will appear and that the library site will be linked to the county web portal.

The board did not take any formal vote on the website at the meeting. Staff said they expect to finish the majority of outstanding items and to circulate the review link to board members and library staff within 24–48 hours of the meeting.