On behalf of the staff of Rowan University Library Services, I am proud to announce the launch of our new Web site and Online Public Access Catalog. With new layouts, new graphics, new pages, new feeds, all driven by entirely new applications, the new site is designed to improve your overall experience with the library and the information you need.

The site is presented in Beta because we still need the most critical component for success: input from our users. We believe the best way to achieve our objective is to invite our users to take the site for a "test drive". Your feedback is essential and in the footer of every page on the new site you will find an email link.  Please take the opportunity to offer comments or criticisms, and ideas for improving the new Web site. Every submission will be considered by a Web content committee in the library.  Over the coming months suggestions will be incorporated into the pages, and new resources and services will be added as they are developed.

Rowan Library Services has moved in a new direction with the launch of our site. There are really two components: the new Web portal is driven by an open source content management framework and the new Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) is based on award winning open source software. Open source is a model that offers us the chance to contribute to and benefit from a body of knowledge developed by contributors from around the globe. The power of this collective effort cannot be matched by the traditional, proprietary alternatives, until recently our only option.

So what is new?  The first thing we think you will notice is the overall cleaner look and feel of the site.  Buttons at the top of each page allow you to quickly jump to the home page, the catalog, or your account. Currently the accounts are handled by the classic catalog but soon this service will be incorporated into the new site.

There are tabs on every page as well, allowing you to easily move through the Web site. The Home page presents a clean look designed to offer timely announcements we think you can use.  The revolving images lead to the News and Events page. The picture you select will be the main story but once there you will find a variety of news stories and information links of interest. You can always jump to this page by clicking the News and Events Tab.

The research tab contains a selection of pages necessary to find educational and research resources. The default page is catalogs but notice, in the bar below the Research tab, there are options for e-resources, subject guides, citing materials, etc.

For local materials use the Rowan Library OPAC. You may choose the new OPAC or the Classic Catalog.  Try them both to compare changes and see the new design. Remember the catalog is BETA and some services are not yet available on the new OPAC.

For books not available in our library, use EZ-Borrow to access holdings in nearly 70 libraries.  For articles click inter-library loan to access the ILLIAD request form.  For more see the related story: "Next Generation Public Access Catalog".

Each tab presents a selection of page links to useful materials. We recommend that you take some time to follow each link and familiarize yourself with the contents. Over the coming months we invite you to review the site for new additions and improvement and, again, please take the time to submit comments and suggestions. Our goal is to have one of the best academic library web sites in the country.  The introduction of our new site is an important step in achieving this goal.  Your critical review will help us in this endeavor.