Find out more about the new website

Why have we changed?

The rapid pace of technology has changed the expectations of our patrons, and we want to ensure that we can continue to deliver upon those expectations. The current website is more than three years old, and while it has served our patrons well over that period, it has finally reached the outer limits of its capabilities.

We believe that it is a responsibility of our Library to ensure that we stay in step with the rapidly changing needs of our online users. Our fresh new approach across the Library provided the ideal opportunity to take a fresh look at the way that we present our content, collections and events. It was the perfect time to update the online experience, bring it into line with user expectation and to make sure that engaging with us online is easy, inviting and rewarding.

Whether you are a seasoned researcher or a first-time visitor, we want to enable the sort of discoveries that you will want to share with your friends.

Who was involved?

The new site is an ongoing collaboration between our users and the Library. The current changes and enhancements reflect the needs and requests of key user groups, internal staff and more than 2000 Library members who kindly gave their time and ideas through our online surveys. Thanks to the contributions of these groups, we have been able to enhance the features that our online patrons like – and improve the usability of areas that require attention.

What can I expect from the new site?

Easy layout and clear navigation

We produce an enormous quantity of amazing content – including a vast and growing collection of digitised pictures and images. One of our key challenges was to make it easier for visitors to take in the breadth of what we offer and to access resources and content that has been buried over time.

To help bring this about, the new site provides a new style of navigation. Our mega menu displays everything you can do within a section at a glance so you can see what is available across the site without having to 'drill down'. We have 'flattened' the site and brought all of the main options and activities within easy reach.

Faster ways to search

The search bar at the top of each page has been enhanced so that you can filter your search from the first click and get to the content you need quickly. Search our catalogue for a specific format, date range or locate only those items that are immediately available – on the shelves or online.

Explore our new digital image pool to unlock the treasures of our pictures collection

In addition to enhancing our existing features, a key focus has been the creation of tools that are easy to use and rewarding for new visitors. Our Digital image pool encourages visitors to take a visual journey through our collections. It is the first in a series of discovery tools that provide easy, engaging ways for new users to discover and explore the richness of our collections – without having to learn how to drive a Library catalogue.

A tailored experience on any device

We see an ever-increasing range of devices accessing our website from within and without the Library. As tablets, phablets and phones become the device of choice for current and future generations of users, we have taken the opportunity to make the new website fully responsive. We know that patrons (like the rest of us) regularly shift between devices. Our approach to responsive design ensures that the overall layout remains familiar and the content and navigation adapts to deliver the best experience for each device and screen size.

Easy access to online content and resources you may not even realize we have

Our Victorian Library members have online access to an astonishing number of online journals, indexes, and databases on hundreds of topics. We also have research guides that do the heavy lifting for students and researchers and provide shortcuts to content across our collections.

A wealth of family history resources – all in one place

We have brought our key family history resources together in one place so that our ever-growing audience of family history visitors can find what they need quickly and discover new ways to explore their past.

Streamlined event information

Our refined What’s on section and tools make it easy to keep track of the many weekly events and activities that take place in and around the Library. Our new calendar design makes it easy to search for family events and to plan your day in the city.

Greater visibility of our images and video content

We have taken advantage of our extraordinary pictures collection and created a more visually engaging experience. Designed to encourage exploration, this has also removed many of the text pages, making it quicker to get to the content that visitors want.

What comes next?

This is just the beginning – there is still lots to do. Over coming months we will be releasing a range of new features which will allow online visitors to view our video content in new ways, and to actively participate in the development of our digital collections. This will include the ability to contribute to an ongoing program to chronicle tomorrow’s history as it happens today.

Please let us know if there are new features you would like to see – or report an issue if you find a features that doesn’t behave the way you expected.

We look forward to continuing the collaboration to deliver a world-class online experience for you.