banner image for department blog

Digital Library Redesign

Department News, Digitization
a quick peak behind the curtain of the new UH Digital Library website

a quick peak behind the curtain of the new UH Digital Library website

Mark your calendars fans of metadata and digitization!

The University of Houston Digital Library website is undergoing a redesign and will be unavailable beginning Thursday, July 18, 2013.  The site is scheduled for relaunch, with full functionality, on Monday, July 22, 2013.

It is difficult not to fall in love with the University of Houston Digital Library.  There are just not a whole slew of resources on this web of ours that offer the rich, deep selection of digitized materials to be found there.  From high resolution reproductions of historic photographs and maps, to personal correspondence of prominent figures, as well as digitized audio and video resources, the Digital Library offers all of this, 24/7, gratis, as it provides wider and broader access for research and scholarship related to the University of Houston, the city of Houston itself, as well as the state of Texas.

Besides, where else can one find a photograph of that collegiate ice hockey power that was the University of Houston?  The Digital Library is full of these hidden gems.

UH Men's Ice Hockey Team, 1936, from the UH Photographs Collection, available in the Digital Library

UH Men’s Ice Hockey Team, 1936, from the UH Photographs Collection, available for high resolution download in the Digital Library

As great as all of that is, it’s about to get better.

The redesign of the Digital Library has been ongoing, behind the scenes, for some time now (you can track the project’s arc and read more about it here).  When they pull back the curtain we will be treated to a number of improvements based directly on patron feedback.  Included in the redesign is a cleaner appearance, improved interface, and more flexibility in browsing and discovery of materials.

Want more information?  A schedule of the website’s downtime, as well as anticipated improvements to the site, can be found at the Digital Library’s announcement here.

Comments are closed.