Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh

http://www.carnegielibrary.org/

The main page of the OPAC at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh (CLP) is an eye-catching display with the essential user-friendly customized link and tag logs in addition to the main menu on the top. The web 2.0 library system appears to have been actively adopted to meet the users needs. Logos like "KIDS," "TEENS," "ask a librarian" etc are featured for Specialty Information & Services.

What's really impressive about this library is also it provides customized programs and events for "the Blind & Physically Handicapped." And also accentuating on the patron's account with the easy-to-recognize logo, the CLP OPAC accommodates and customizes the users needs.

The top menu bars consist of home/using the library/books, downloads & more/tools & research/events/locations & departments. Clicking on the menu "using the library," users are directed to another page with all relevant informational links that inform library users of the detailed information on how to use the CLP, policies, and technology.

With regard to the menu "tools & research," I was pleasantly surprised to see how the CLP OPAC is easy and less cluttered for average users of the library OPAC. There are three options users actually can search the information they desire to obtain (i.e., Catalog Search, Keyword, & Google). Clicking on the drop-down menu on Catalog Search, I have 4 options to choose: Title, Author, Keyword, and Subject. The design of the page was simple, focusing, and easy to navigate. The CLP OPAC offers another search mechanism through databases. First, you can see the alphabetically ordered list of classification according to subjects and formats. Following is the detailed index according to the order of the list.

Looking at the list, I could see how well the site has been accommodating to suit the users, meaning the general public. On the left-hand side of the page, you can another list according to topics and collections, which seem to be popular among users: Users can listen to books online via Library Access or Remote Access.

Color scheme is simple and consistent; the text size is accommodating to users needs providing small, medium, and large.