Bailey Library:Website
View This ProjectProject Details
By far my first major project, I was assigned the task of redesigning Slippery Rock University's Bailey Library website during the first semester of my senior year in college. I was already an employee of the library, working as a student web technician when I was asked to participate in the project.
The primary purpose for the redesign was to move away from the content management system imposed on the library by the university. Further motivation for the project was created by the librarians who sought a unique design that would separate the library's site from the standard website templates used by the rest of the university, while still maintaining an association with the university.
The initial redesign was undertaken by a student group out of Slippery Rock University's Communications Department and was completed in the summer of 2006. However, the new design was created using a tables-based layout designed in Microsoft FrontPage. This meant much of what was produced contained unnecessary and non-standard markup.
Through discussions with the library's web coordinator, Melba Tomeo, I was given the responsibility of re-coding the website's layout. The FrontPage generated HTML and improperly implemented cascading stylesheets were replaced with hand-written XHTML, centralized stylesheets, and a small amount of JavaScript. The new design template was also applied to additional pages not covered in the original redesign.
As a result of the process, two main templates were created: one for the main page of the site, and one for all other secondary pages. Every page contains a header that includes a link back to the Slippery Rock University site, a link to the main Bailey Library page, and the slogan “Rock Solid Research”. Each page has a consistent navigation menu in the left column. Also, all pages have 'breadcrumb' links towards the top and bottom of the page. Unique photographs were included to reflect the purpose of each individual webpage.
Please note that, as of August 2010, Slippery Rock University has redesigned the Bailey Library website as part of a University-wide redesign. I have archived a version of my design, but some links and elements may no longer work.
