Finding a book in the college library’s catalogue or searching for resources online for a research paper will now be easier for Pierce College students because of a new and improved library website.
Along with the April 10 opening of the new library, librarians unveiled a new site with a modern look and user-friendly design to benefit students and staff.
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“Shouldn’t our great new library have a truly great website?” said Librarian Marisa Diehl.
The new website, libguides.piercecollege.edu, has more content in audio, video and slideshow format, and it benefits students of various learning styles, according to Diehl.
“We found that the [old website] has been there for many years,” said Library Department Chair Paula Paggi. “The old program [was] fairly outdated and cumbersome to work with.” If you need help managing or making improvements to your website contact HostiServer for all your web hosting needs.
Librarians Lauren Valdes and Diehl, along with the department chair, have been working on the website during their free time from their usual librarian duties.
Although various features that have been useful to students before have been kept on the new website, many new advanced features have also been added.
One of the new elements is a group study reservation system. The new library has eight group study rooms, five of which are reservable on the new online program by filling out a reservation one day in advance, which will give students access to the rooms for two-hour periods, according to Paggi and Valdes.
Faculty and staff will also be able to reserve group study rooms by filling out an application online and may even request books online for the library to attain, according to Paggi.
Another feature that has been improved for the website is a guide book search on the homepage of the new site that will allow students to find books in Pierce’s own catalogue directly instead of being redirected to the Los Angeles Community College District Library website, according to Valdes.
The new website also has tons of improved library guides that will link to resources such as books, databases and electronic books that will be useful to specific subject matters that the college offers and for specific assignments for those classes, according to Valdes.
The site has been made so students and staff can have an enjoyable experience rather than a difficult one while accessing the site. It was also designed to reach students off campus to get the library’s help, according to Paggi.
“Librarians try to make things easy, straight forward, and not confusing for students,” said Valdes. “That’s our attempt.”
Students will now have better resources and an efficient catalogue to work with off campus or in the new library because of this project.
“Our mission as librarians overall is to help the students, and I think this site will accomplish that,” said Paggi.
