As part of a comprehensive redesign of its entire Web site, the Library of Congress on Oct. 6 launched an important upgrade to its award-winning American Memory site, at www.loc.gov/memory/.
To arrive at this new design (left), the American Memory team spent many months analyzing user statistics, collecting comments and testing site designs with novice and experienced users. The goal was to provide a user-centered interface, improved navigation and a more fulfilling user experience.
All American Memory collections can be now searched from every page of American Memory that has been converted into the new design. The 126 individual collections within American Memory will be converted to the new design over a period of months.
The site has been designed for universal access and is in compliance with federal Section 508 accessibility standards, making it easier to use for those with limited abilities. All users will benefit from the new consistent global and local navigation features. All of the collections now can be browsed or searched either as a whole from the home page, or within each individual collection.
Each improvement has been designed and tested to get the user to the content as quickly as possible. Library staff members will continue to apply lessons learned and best practices of user-centered design to the rest of the Library of Congress Web site under the auspices of its Internet Operations Group
