Las Vegas City Wire

A University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) web specialist is being recognized for her role in cultivating a better user experience on the school's University Libraries website.

Anjanette Jones moved to Las Vegas in 2019 because she was offered a job at University Libraries, and her first assignment was to overhaul the website; a recent UNLV news release said. 

"I see my role as a facilitator and advocate," she said in the release. "I am responsible for ensuring the Libraries' website content is up to date and meets users' needs, but I often don't know when content is outdated. It's important for me to communicate with subject matter experts throughout the Libraries who can inform me of any needed updates. I then work with them to facilitate adding or updating information on our website."

The project was even more consequential when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and forced the university to go remote. The Libraries website was crucial to anyone on campus who needed to utilize library services.

"It's more than just adding content," Jones said. "I also advocate for our users by seeking to ensure it meets their needs. I do this by conducting research with library users to better understand their behaviors and needs. I also make sure content follows the Libraries' web style guide and web writing best practices, which keeps our whole website more consistent and organized."

Jones added that her time as librarian helped her craft a website that would be user friendly.

"What I discovered was that website users don't always think the same way we do," she said. "For example, organizing a website by an internal department structure makes perfect sense to us, but is baffling to our users. Unfortunately, knowing what would make sense to them can be like trying to hit a target with your eyes closed."