A new website for Daniel Boone Regional Library (DBRL) will be ready for the public to begin beta testing on Monday, October 17. People can access the site at http://beta.dbrl.org and fill out a response form at beta.dbrl.org or email their comments to web@dbrl.org. Both the old and new sites will be available through November 6.

“Since the current website was introduced in 2008, we’ve added so many new online services making our website a true digital branch. Updating the old framework became a challenge,” said Lauren Williams, DBRL librarian and digital branch content coordinator. “During the development phase, we examined how people were using the website and built the new website around those usage patterns. And in the new design, we wanted to put the online services front and center.”

Visitors to the new library website will find several new features. There’s a large central search box, three main menus designed to quickly direct people to the most popular services and the new website is responsive, so that it automatically adjusts to suit the screen of the device being used.

“The new search function is much more robust than before. It not only lists items in our collection, but also provides links to other useful resources, based on the search topic, available on our website,” said Williams. The new website was designed and programmed by library staff.

In August 2016, more than 42,200 online items circulated. This includes ebooks, downloadable audiobooks and magazines.