ALA Web site redesign elements on ITTS blog

Contact: Steve Zalusky
Manager of Communications, ALA Public Information Office
(312) 280-1546
szalusky@ala.org

For Immediate Release,
May 7, 2008

ALA Web site redesign elements on ITTS blog

<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />CHICAGO – A preview of the redesigned American Library Association (ALA) Web site, which will be unveiled at the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim, Calif., is now available online. Just visit the ITTS Update blog at http://www.ala.org/redesignupdate.

The purpose of the May 5 blog post is to introduce the new graphic design and information architecture, as well as get feedback.

The redesign is a response to user concerns about the way information was organized. Users were saying the site didn’t match their mental models.

Now, as a result of a two-year process of gathering information from focus groups, one-on-one interviews, hands-on usability tests, online surveys, guided tours and input from UserWorks Inc. of Silver Spring, Md., a more user-centered Web site has emerged, one that is better organized and easier to navigate.

Among the new features will be a Home Page on which news is divided into three categories: inside ALA; legislation and advocacy news; and national and international news.

A complete description of the redesign process can be found by clicking http://wikis.ala.org/webplanning/images/4/49/Website_Redesign_Background.pdf.

On the ITTS Update blog, one can find a series of sample pages in PDF format: a home page; landing pages; a listing page; and a content page.

As Rob Carlson, ALA Web development manager, notes on the post, “This is a work in progress. Some of the things you will see in these graphic design samples have already been changed, though not drastically. We are still tweaking the information architecture as well, and will probably continue to do so as we move forward. We plan to implement a process of continuous improvement for the ALA website.”