Shameless: New IRC web page

Looking back through blog post history I located three different occasions during October (2006) when I discussed, in some detail, the redesign of the Instructional Resource Center web page. Once design changes and "artistic" layouts were established, decisions regarding retention of different pages and how to present key elements were addressed. I completed the first test pages in January and changing over old pages to new pages began in earnest soon after. So, it is with great joy I announce the frames are gone; the page is done, posted, and best of all it works!

Information is presented in five categories:

• IRC Information - Faculty, GA's, student workers, hours, pricing and both IRC and EDCI 131/504 FAQ's.
• IRC Collection - Information regarding the library catalog, juvenile books, curriculum textbooks, IRC & it's technology, IRC services, and quick copyright resources.
• What's new - Links to the various IRC blogs for the latest information regarding additions to the collection and news. Sidebar widgets detail new books reviewed in the IRC Book Review blog, news from this blog, and a quick catalog search tool.
• Children's Author & Illustrator Pages - The main page presents reference resources, database recommendations, and Internet links for children's authors and illustrators. Additionally, over 75 individual author and illustrator pages are presented.
• IRC Resources - A compilation of various resources available beyond the traditional IRC collection; Internet resources, education & research, course handouts, leveled book kits, and mock Caldecott pages are featured here.

It will come as no surprise that my favorite element of the redesign is the IRC "What's new" page. It incorporates several blog widgets, LibraryThing, a Widgetbox Blidget, and a catalog search widget, as well as provides RSS feeds from Feedburner. Right now I am spending time tweaking things and adding more author and illustrator pages (especially Caldecott & Newbery) to the existing collection. Overall, I am pleased and relieved to be finished!

Tags: Ashland University Library, IRC web page, Web page redesign, Academic library web pages