The Evanston Public Library is scheduled to launch a redesign for its website Thursday.
“We want everyone to consider the library’s online services indispensable for finding free information they can trust,” Paul Gottschalk, the interim director of the library, says.
Data from web traffic analysis firm Quantcast.com shows that a higher percentage of Evanstonians uses their library web site than do residents in some nearby towns.
Quantcast says over 13,000 people used the Evanston library site last month, compared to 7,400 for the Skokie library and 8,700 for the Arlington Heights library.
But the other towns saw users dig deeper into their library sites. The Arlington Heights library saw more than a half million page views in December. Skokie had nearly 150,000. But Evanston received less than 36,000 pageviews, according to Quantcast.
The new website — still located at epl.org — includes a “live help” feature that will let patrons ask a librarian for assistance or research help online.
It also includes a “quick search” option that will let users search any topic across the library’s entire holdings with one entry.
Patrons can call the library’s Reference Department at 847-448-8630 for help with any of the new search functions on the website.