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New Smith College Libraries Website — What You Should Know

Events

Screenshot of new Libraries' website search box

Published January 10, 2024

On January 10, 2024, the Smith College Libraries website upgraded from Drupal 7 to Drupal 10, just as the college’s main website did in October 2023.

The majority of changes made to the Libraries website are aesthetic—branding, colors, and layout, for example—and site and collections search functionality are largely unchanged. Primary functions that did not change include the prominent search box at the top of the page for finding all you need, current Libraries' news and events below the search box, and the links to My Account/Renew, Hours, and Ask Us in the top right menu bar.

My Account/Renew, Hours, and Ask Us (in the top right menu bar)

Old version:

screenshot of utility menu on old website

New Version:

screenshot of utility menu on new website

A number of improvements have been made to the homepage layout as well. Please be aware of these changes:

Quick Links

The most-used Quick Links are now more visible just below the search box.

Old version:

screenshot of quick links on old website

New version:

screenshot of quick links on new website

Main Menu

Menus on the top of the page are now vertical drop-down menus instead of the former horizontal orientation. While the menus look different, the categories are similar.

Old version:

screenshot of menu on old website

New version:

screenshot of menu on new website

Search Box

Search tabs for "Discover" and “Discover Advanced" were reoriented so that "Discover Advanced" is now the default search tab.

Old version:

screenshot of tabbed search box on old website

New version:

screenshot of tabbed search box on new website

When using Discover Advanced, checking the “Five College Catalog only (excludes articles)” box under the search bar limits search results to Smith and Five College items and excludes articles and databases. Learn more about what is and is not searchable in Discover Advanced.

Course Reserves

The Libraries are piloting a new Course Reserves tab on the homepage search box as a way for students to easily find physical reserve items and have access to an e-reserves search link:

screenshot of course reserves tab on new website

Questions or Comments?

Please note that redirects for any existing pages should be in place, so even if the URL has changed for a page you have bookmarked, you should still be directed to the correct page.

Should you have any questions pertaining to the launch of the new website, or if you have trouble finding anything, please use Ask Us to let us know.