Project Overview
The NIH Library was designed to be a one-stop platform for researchers to access information on any subject they might need, and from anywhere they might be. Quick and easy access to the best published material helps spur the best possible advances. As the online library grew, it began attracting more interest, and the opportunity for the Library to become something greater emerged.
Core Values Drive Innovation
With the increased interest both within NIH and from the public came an increased demand for more content and remote access. With the limitations of the website at the time, this slowed progress for researchers and left administrators hoping for something better. The Library was having difficulty meeting its core values of innovation, integrity, service orientation, excellence, and collaboration.
Through hard work and diligent effort, the librarians kept the Library functioning, never giving up on their work and efforts. The researchers, too, persisted, not letting speed bumps slow them down for long. But in order for the Library to meet demand and fulfill its true potential, it became evident a major site upgrade was needed.
Our Site was recently highlighted in Digital.gov's design system examples: https://designsystem.digital.gov/ !
Working Together to Achieve Something Greater
When WebFirst was contacted by the NIH, we set to work immediately. We sat down with librarians, researchers, administrators, and programmers, and carefully considered everything they had done in the past, everything they thought they could do differently, and everything they would want in the website going forward. Then we made a plan: a responsive, secure, easy-to-use platform to be built with Drupal 7.
