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NLM Digital Collections Homepage Redesign

Gilbert J, Diffin J, Chan K. NLM Digital Collections Homepage Redesign. NLM Tech Bull. 2018 Nov-Dec;(425):e3.

November 20, 2018 [posted]

On November 5, 2018, the National Library of Medicine (NLM) released a new design for the Digital Collections homepage. The updated homepage conveys the broad scope of Digital Collections' content and provides users an enhanced search experience. Usability testing, analytics, and user feedback influenced the new design.

Digital Collections is the NLM free, online repository of biomedical resources including books, still images, videos, and maps. All the content in Digital Collections is freely available worldwide and, unless otherwise indicated, in the public domain.

The new design includes simplified search and browse options, recently digitized items, a rotating banner of featured items from the Digital Collections, information about each collection in Digital Collections, and links to related projects (see Figure 1).


screen shot of New Digital Collections homepage design.
Figure 1: New Digital Collections homepage design.

The site search box is prominently located in the design to maximize usability and the text above the search box helps orient users to what they can find in Digital Collections (see Figure 2). The background image features a rotating set of items from the Digital Collections that changes when the user loads the page. View the featured item by clicking the link on the left side of the image.


screen shot of Search the Digital Collections from the homepage.
Figure 2: Search the Digital Collections from the homepage.

The new design also provides a preview of the most recent 12 digitized items added to Digital Collections (see Figure 3).


screen shot of Browse recently digitized items.
Figure 3: Browse recently digitized items.

The "Collections" section features overviews about the items included in each collection in Digital Collections. The tiles also highlight a selected image from an item in each collection (see Figure 4).


screen shot of Browse the collections.
Figure 4: Browse the collections.

The "Related Digital Projects" section features three digital projects from NLM where users can find additional historical citations and materials (see Figure 5).


screen shot of Related digital projects.
Figure 5: Related digital projects.

Be on the lookout for improvements and updates to the site in the coming months, including incorporating the new look and feel into all the Digital Collections pages. We welcome your comments, questions and suggestions. Contact us through NLM Customer Support.