Redesigned libraries' website launches

View from the 'bridge': The main reading room at Robbins Library in 2017 as seen from the floor where the administration toils. / Bob Sprague photo

The new year brings an all-new, redesigned town libraries' website to a browser near you at robbinslibrary.org. The site launches Tuesday, Jan. 18.

Robbins on a postcard. / Richard Duffy

The web home of Arlington’s libraries, the Robbins Library and the Fox Branch Library, was created in collaboration with Arlington-based design firm Bionic Squid of Arlington. Its user-focused design approach grew out of community feedback, surveys and months of research and planning. New features include:

Prominent library hours;
Events calendar color-coded for kids, teens and adults;
An accessibility services page;
Front page links to popular services, such as printing, museum passes and grab bags;
“Staff Picks” area, featuring recommended reads; and
Category filters for digital resources and databases.

“Our new site reflects the vitality of Robbins and Fox, and also serves as a virtual branch, a portal to our rich array of resources,” says Andrea Nicolay, director of libraries, in a Jan. 14 news release. “The goal was to make it easy to navigate, helpful, and good-looking. We’re excited about it.”

A website feedback option on the page gives a simple way for the community members to share their thoughts and experiences of the new site.

About Arlington’s libraries

First established as a “juvenile library” in 1837, the Robbins Library was known as the Arlington Public Library from 1872 to 1892, when a gift from Maria C. Robbins gave the library a permanent home and its new name.

The East Branch opened in 1917 and in 1965, Edith M. Fox left a bequest to expand the East Branch building, subsequently renamed the Edith M. Fox Branch Library and Community Center. Together as Arlington’s public library system, the Robbins Library and the Fox Branch Library provide access to materials, programs, and community spaces for all.