Chicago Public Library

The Chicago Public Library is a beautiful system inside and out. And I say system because of the 80 different locations you can go to inside the city limits of Chicago. And I say inside and out because not only are the buildings beautiful and full of books and rare items, especially the Harold Washington Library in Downtown Chicago, but they also have such a diverse and wide presence online. 

    

When you open up the Chicago Public Library homepage online, you see the below image.

While it might not be the flashiest or the awe-inspiring work of art that some webpages are, for a library, this is the go-to format, and the CPL does a great job with it. All major libraries have about the same format for all their webpages. Here are a few you should check out to see the similarities. 

New York

Miami

London

It is important for libraries to have a simple, yet effective webpage for their patrons to follow. This is because libraries are meant to be accessible to anyone, so the libraries tend to cater to those who are less online literate. This is why when you look at each library's webpages, they are so similar. It is almost like libraries all agreed to go with the same format for the ease of which patrons can access the information. 

Like with each other library, the same set up is made with the main banners at the top having a search within the library system as well as a general link to browse within the library's website. The CPL keeps it clean with their logo and the Celebrate African American History with the CPL drawing your eye. The meat of the webpage is dedicated to all the different services being provided at this time that the library is promoting, such as an events update, a recommended books by staff link, their E-book services message and then messages on what is going on in the child and teen sections within the library district. While I think the library does a good job at showing all the possible things that are available through them, I do think that this overkill and can cause some to be overwhelmed. And of course, at the bottom of the page is the traditional FAQ, Agreements, and links of this nature. I feel like for the most part, the page is really well done and completes the task that it sets out to do, which is provide the user with the current going-ons within the Chicago Public Library system. 

The Chicago Public Library does a great job of getting their message out overall on social media. Their Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram are all up to date on the current programs being offered through the CPL district. With February 1st being the start of Black History month, CPL has made sure that all their social media is aligned with this and are sending out the same information. If you go back and look through all the social media and the dates of each update of information, the data all links up. It shows just how well the marketing department within the CPL does when it comes to having a consistent online identity. You can always count on the most current and up to date information to be on the pages.

The one area where the CPL could improve upon, is the applying for jobs online. The CPL is a department within the actual city government. Because of this, the city's human resources department does the hiring for the CPL. There is nothing that the CPL can do about this since this is a city matter. They could improve upon informing people on how to go about applying through the cities H.R. department. The CPL does such a good job at providing so much information and different walk-throughs on the website and their YouTube page, but there is nothing on the applying process. While this might seem like a small thing, it does stick out to me. Other than this one thing, I think the Chicago Public Library does a great job of establishing a well-kept online identity and do a great job of keeping to their script of up-to-date information.