New Courthouse Libraries BC Website

Exciting news! As of this afternoon, the new Courthouse Libraries BC website is launched and ready to start offering a customizable approach to BC legal information.

Announced by Virtual Libraries Manager, Mandy Ostick on the CLBC's new blog - The Stream:

We are delighted to launch the new Courthouse Libraries BC website.
As well as greatly improved usability and use of graphics, some of the new features on our new site include:

• website accounts for faster orders, viewing your order history and saving your searches - create your web account today
• easy to use website search with powerful options for refining your searches
• relevancy ranked search results
• practice portals that provide starting points and the latest legal research news on practice areas such as personal injury and family law.

What's striking about the new design is how the CLBC has chosen to fine tune their delivery based on 1) individual user need, and 2) stakeholder groups. I really like the additions of bullets #1 & #4 above (in bold, my notation). This is an important evolution for delivering online services, moving from the 'one size fits all' approach, to a customized delivery approach. First, at the user level, which by adding account logins, allows for a host of custom delivery options. And second, by creating filtered portals for their biggest user groups. Those practice portals could be the start of something big; helping both in terms of creating a community-driven approach & in service delivery.

Also noteworthy, IMO, is the aforementioned blog - The Stream. Many of us in the BC market have tracked the CLBC's 'what's new' blog, which will now carry forward under 'New & Notable'. But in addition to those news-y items, it looks like we'll now have some opinion-based commentary coming from my colleagues at Courthouse Libraries BC.

Congratulations to Mandy Ostick and everyone involved at the CLBC! This site launch is a big step forward.