2020 LibTech Conference

The University Library building is somewhat complex in structure because it is basically a newer 3-floors construction attached to the original 8-floor library building. Students easily get confused or lost when they are new to the library. The library maps were an interactive 3D building structure in Adobe Flash plus floor plans in PDF format. The librarians use these maps to give directions or demonstrate the building structure in their instructions or reference sessions. But as Adobe Flash is not supported on iOS devices and is blocked by some browsers, when the library website was redesigned, we had to find a new technology or format to replace the existing maps and fulfill the similar functions. In the map project, the original building floor plans were used as the source, so the new library maps accurately reflected the building layout. We selected the open source tool Inkscape to develop maps in the format of SVG, a vector-based graphics in XML. The new maps are easy to style, light-weighted, interactive, and accessible. Additionally, an interactive 2D building structure was used to show the location of each floor and to switch between floors. We are also planning usability tests for the maps and will implement feedback from users to improve the user experience of the maps.