EBR Parish Library Debuts New Website

Submitted by Sarah Crawford, Head of Public Relations for EBR Library

The East Baton Rouge Parish Library is live as of noon yesterday with a
fresh website design at a new address, www.ebrpl.com.

The organization of the new website design is intended to provide a
user-friendly experience so that patrons may easily navigate all services
the Library website offers.

The new home page uses an enhanced online events calendar to highlight the
Library’s many free programs, from Storytimes to computer classes to
lectures, performances, and workshops, with announcements of upcoming
programs automatically and continually displayed, and links to more
information as well as the online version of the Library’s monthly
newsletter, The Source.

The website serves as the Library’s virtual branch, providing a portal to
a huge collection of electronic resources selected for every age and
interest and freely available to library card holders 24/7.  Basic access
points at the top of the homepage provide easy access to more information
about the Library’s services; infoGuides; Online Databases, including
Tutor.com and Learning Express; Digital Books and Music, including links
to the library’s popular Overdrive and Freegal download collections;
updated pages featuring services for children and teens, and of course, a
search box for the online library catalog of 1.8 million print and
non-print resources and the Community Information Database.

The entire site is searchable and designed for ease of use.  From each
page of the website, viewers can quickly look up books and movies, renew
their books, check the status of their accounts, find phone numbers and
location for each library branch and department, and read the published
minutes of the Library Board of Control.

Special feature buttons at the bottom of the home page provide users with
quick access to services such as the Baton Rouge Digital Archive, where
history buffs and anyone interested in the history of Baton Rouge and
Louisiana will find a plethora of photos and information.

The special feature buttons also lead users to Genealogy resources, an
extension of the Genealogy Room at the Bluebonnet Regional Branch Library;
the Career Center’s online resources; and the Library’s popular infoBlog
collection of locally produced blogs related to library services, useful
websites, trends, and search hints.

Each page includes a sticky note asking, “Got a Question?” When users
click the note, it will lead them to a bank of previously-asked questions
answered by the Library’s reference staff, and provides the opportunity to
send in a new question or chat live with librarians for immediate
assistance.

Comprising over 500 individual web pages, the new website was developed
in-house, incorporating input from patrons and library staff over the past
2 years.  Prominent in the design is the Library’s new logo, developed by
students enrolled in the Graphic Design program at LSU.  The new website
will be continually expanded and updated, as new information, features,
images, and interactive functionality is integrated into the design.

For more information, visit www.ebrpl.com or call (225) 231-3750.