Marigold & Peace Library Systems

https://marigold.ab.ca/

80 purpose-built websites, deployed and managed at scale.

Marigold and Peace Library Systems websites

The Marigold and Peace Library Systems in Alberta, Canada, needed to modernize the web sites of their more than 80 branch libraries. They wanted the sites to be more inviting to patrons – particularly mobile users – and effectively promote their wide range of event programming and resources, not just books.

But Marigold and Peace faced the same budgetary constraints as publicly funded libraries everywhere. They needed a custom-developed solution that scaled across their network of about 80 websites, with library-centric features that are typically found in expensive, SaaS-based solutions marketed specifically for libraries.

“We wanted to do something on a large scale, but without a large budget,” said Richard Kenig, the IT Manager for the Marigold Library System who acted as project manager for the initiative. “We were looking for a solution that would be attractive and modern, but be built to focus specifically on the needs of libraries – not marketers or other types of businesses that so many web platforms are built for.”

In 2018, the libraries decided to build their own multi-domain web publishing system, based on the eZ Platform DXP. Marigold and Peace selected Mugo Web, an eZ partner based in Vancouver, as developer for the project, which launched in early 2019.

The Challenge

The Marigold and Peace Library Systems encompass more than 80 independent branch libraries, serving about a half-million patrons. Some libraries are quite small, being open only about a dozen hours a week, while others serve larger communities with a large number of staff.

The libraries’ sites had run on a commodity Drupal template for a few years, but Kenig said librarians found the solution failed to meet their needs for a number of reasons:

The library systems had no in-house developers or dedicated technical support resources for a commodity CMS like Drupal. Librarians are focused on serving patrons, not technology management.
Content population was cumbersome. Smaller libraries, with only one manager, often could not find the time to update content. And even more fully-staffed libraries found content population tedious.
The libraries’ site templates were not responsive and unfriendly to mobile users.
Promoting events, a major priority for both library systems, was clumsy with commodity calendars. And such systems don’t have event recurrence features or event registration capabilities including wait lists, which are key features for reading and educational programs that often book up quickly.

Project Requirements

The Marigold and Peace Library Systems often cooperate on large-scale projects (such as their LMS cataloging system), so when it came time to research a new public website platform, it was natural for them to collaborate.

After conferring with member libraries, Kenig set these core requirements for the project:

The system had to be easy for non-technical staff to use and populate content.
Technical system managers needed to maintain admin rights to all 80 sites on the platform, while allowing local librarians to make content and cosmetic changes to their specific domains.
Site templates had to be responsive, accessible, and mobile-friendly.
The site design had to be attractive and engaging to users, and support new features and additions, as needed.
The platform had to be built to last. The Marigold and Peace Library Systems were making a major investment, and wanted a system that could grow with their mission for years to come.
A feature-rich events calendar and registration system, including event recurrence and waiting lists, must be integrated in the system.

Why eZ Platform

Kenig did extensive technical research and cut the candidate list to two platforms, including eZ. He said he found its multi-domain architecture to be a good fit for the economy and scalability the libraries needed.

Peter Keung, the Managing Director at Mugo Web, said eZ Platform’s extensible content model, page templating system and built-in functionality were a perfect fit for the libraries requirements.

“For example, we are able to focus on the business logic specific to handling events with complex recurrence rules and add a registration system with wait lists on top, while letting eZ handle the heavy lifting around data storage, the base editorial interface, and content relations,” Keung said.

“We focus on getting the business requirements right, and have the confidence that eZ can fit the end solution, rather than having to modify the end solution to suit eZ.”

Marigold’s Kenig said eZ Platform’s intuitive content editing user interface for was also a big plus.

“We were looking for something that was as simple as drag and drop, or about as simple, and eZ was a good fit. We did not want to try to train a lot of users, who aren’t necessarily the most technical people, on a complicated, hard-to-learn system,” Kenig said. “It did everything we wanted, and within the budget we had to work with.”

Why Mugo

Kenig said Mugo stood out as a development partner for a number of reasons:

The Mugo team understood the libraries’ requirements and added useful ideas and suggestions, without needlessly expanding the scope of the project with a lot of bells and whistles.
Mugo’s design proposal was modern, professional and customizable, but maintained a clear focus on functionality.
Mugo was easy to communicate with and responsive. The team traveled on-site to Alberta a few times, and remained responsive to concerns, even after launch. This was especially critical for a project where key stakeholders are separated by geography and came together only about once a month to make decisions, Kenig said.

“They had a good understanding of our industry and listened to our feedback,” Kenig said. “They understood where we want to go.”

The Solution

The Marigold and Peace website system includes a wide range of features purpose-built for libraries, based on eZ Platform core content and functionality models.

Calendar and events registration

Patrons can register for events directly from calendar listings. Site operators can set attendee limits for registration-only events, as well as waiting list queues for popular events. Patrons are notified by email if an event slot comes open, and librarians can easily export attendee lists from within the eZ Platform admin interface.

Responsive design

Page templates are fully responsive and present cleanly on all devices.

Visual customization per domain

Defining a colour scheme for your library website

Authorized individual site managers can set key visual properties per domain, including color scheme and header logo. This provides each library a distinctive visual identity while maintaining an easy-to-manage site structure across the system.

Hours of operation

Each library can set its hours of operation, including holidays. The information presents in the header of the site – no more shuffling or open and closed status on a daily basis, or misleading patrons with an out-of-date schedule.

Integration with LMS catalog

Librarians can create custom reading lists simply by scanning a book or other resource. All information about the item is pulled automatically from the LMS, and reading list items link directly to the catalog. Catalog searches can also be launched directly from the eZ Platform site.

Edit workflows within the multi-domain implementation

Each library can set individual permissions for page creation, content updates, and other management tasks. Centralized managers maintain the ability to push global content and setting updates to multiple sites across the system.

Custom form editor

Simple drag-and-drop functionality allows librarians to create custom forms for patron feedback with no coding or technical knowledge. And responses are easily accessible or exported from the system’s UI.

Quick rollout per site at scale

Mugo created scripts to manage site variables that enabled roll-out of individual sites in just a couple hours. The script is based on a core user permissions and content profile, so that individual sites managers don’t start with a blank slate when launching a new site.

Client Reception

Since its rollout to member libraries began this spring, Marigold and Peace’s new websites have been a hit with librarians and patrons alike.

“The feedback has been almost entirely positive,” Kenig said. “The librarians and patrons like the design, and the librarians really like how easy it is to manage their content, compared to our old system.” In all, the two systems have trained more than 100 site operators, and all seem to have quickly taken to the system, he added.

Patrons are “actively and aggressively” using the Events Registration system, he added. “Staff members are putting up events at 9 a.m. and they are filling up by 9:30,” Kenig said. “So the system is obviously addressing the need we identified as being essential to the project.”

Mugo Web hosts the multi-domain installation and handles all updates and maintenance. The system supports multiple domains and automatic SSL certificates.

Kenig says the libraries hope to stay on the current build-out for a decade or more, although he does anticipate some need to modify design templates and perhaps add a few new features during that lifecycle.

“We may need to make some changes, but the platform allows us to do that without a lot of expense or disruption,” he said. “We’ll be able to keep all our content in one place, which is enormously valuable.”