In This Issue:
 MEDLINEplus
is Better Than Ever
New
Docline
OLDMEDLINE
Update
E-CIP
Permanent
Access to NLM Files
NIH
Director's Awards
NLM
New Associate Fellows
Virtual
Tour
MLA/PLA
Conference
Szczur
Joins SIS
Publicity
Review and Update
Portrait
Goes to Blair House
In Every Issue:
Names
in the News
NLM
In Print
|
MEDLINEplus is Better Than Ever
August Makeover Improves Usability, Appearance of Consumer Web
Site
In August, NLM's popular consumer web site, MEDLINEplus
(medlineplus.gov) underwent a "facelift" as a result of extensive
usability testing, customer comments, and the need to more easily
accommodate future growth of the site. Since MEDLINEplus's inception
in October 1998, the site has grown tremendously and added many
valuable resources, including drug information, a medical
encyclopedia and links to the latest clinical trials.
The new design features:
- A more attractive and compact home page that will soon contain
links to the latest health news stories. The home page now
contains five major "content" areas. (See below.)
- Every MEDLINEplus page now contains a search box and general
sitenavigation links.
- Health topic pages more prominently feature our selected links
but retain the preformulated MEDLINE searches and links to related
topics and categories.
No URLs were changed as a result of the redesign, and the site
downloads faster than before. MEDLINEplus receives over two million
page hits a month and contains over 400 health topics. As always,
NLM welcomes any comments and suggestions about MEDLINEplus. A link
to "We welcome your comments" is at the bottom of every page.
The August 16, 2000 release of MEDLINEplus introduced a new
design and modified organizational structure. These changes were a
result of extensive usability testing and consumer feedback. NLM has
performed a range of usability testing on the site, including expert
evaluation, informal user questioning and formal, and videotaped
observations of people using the site for the first time. The new
design retains many elements of the current site, but now features:
A more attractive and compact home page
Many users wanted to see more vivid pictures on the home page
illustrating the kinds of information found on MEDLINEplus.
MEDLINEplus developers added photographs alongside a modified
organizational structure. These small photographs are optimized in
order to make their file size as small as possible for quick page
loading. "New Links on MEDLINEplus" are now located on the right
side, along with a "Featured Site" that will highlight NIH-related
web sites.
Five major "content" areas
- health topics (including the medical encyclopedia)
- drug information
- dictionaries
- directories
- other resources (including organizations, consumer health
libraries, publications, MEDLINE and more)
The new organizational structure is a result of consumer feedback
and web log analysis. The majority of users search for health
topics, drug information and dictionary assistance.
A top navigation bar including a search box on every page Most
web sites offer a search box on their pages and usability testing
showed that consumers expect this feature, particularly on the home
page. MEDLINEplus now offers site navigation on the top of every
page, freeing up screen space on the left by eliminating the site
navigation sidebar from many pages. Every page on MEDLINEplus,
except for the home page, is now "liquid", meaning that the width of
the top banner and body content will shrink or expand to any size
browser window.
Health topic pages that more prominently feature our selected
links
All the MEDLINEplus health topic pages now display the table of
contents on the left side, grouped by four subcategories: NIH and
clinical, organizations and tools (e.g., dictionaries, directories),
population groups and other languages. The selected links start on
the top, right side, so users no longer need to scroll down the page
for the most useful information. The primary NIH institute, if one
exists for the topic, is below the table of contents, followed by
the preformulated MEDLINE searches and the related topics and
categories. No URLs have been changed as a result of the redesign,
and the site will download faster than before.
As always, NLM welcomes any comments and suggestions about
MEDLINEplus. A link to "We welcome your comments" is at the bottom
of every page.
Thanks to Jennifer Marill, senior systems librarian, Public
Services Division, for contributing this article.
| Since its creation in 1836, the National Library of
Medicine has grown into the world's largest medical library
and an undisputed leader in information technology. NLM's
commitment to providing high- quality medical resources to
people around the globe sparked the creation of MEDLINEplus, a
free, consumer-friendly web site that gives users the answers
to their health and wellness questions. | |
