LibPress 2.0: Three Member Libraries Share Their Redesigns
After launching LibPress 2.0 in October 2025, the LibPress team embarked on a beta testing project to refine the tools and procedures and gain valuable feedback from our member libraries. We started working with a select number of LibPress libraries who were ready to redesign their sites using WordPress’s Block Editor. This way of building a site has much more flexibility and customizability than the classic LibPress template, allowing for more creativity and variety in the site layout and content.
We are pleased to share that three B.C. libraries have now finished redesigning their sites using LibPress 2.0: Pemberton & District Public Library, Beaver Valley Public Library, and Salt Spring Island Public Library.
The beta testing period is complete and we are excited to share this milestone with the community. We hope that these library’s stories will inspire other LibPress member libraries to consider taking on this project themselves.
Pemberton & District Public Library
Pemberton & District Public Library has created a vibrant and colourful modern site that prominently highlights their services, events and collections. Check out their site at pembertonlibrary.ca
Testimonial:
“It turned out to be a really meaningful project. I got more out of it than just redesigning our homepage. It was a great opportunity to think more deeply about how design, usability, and collaboration all fit together. The site now feels much cleaner and more modern, with important tasks and features easier to find right from the homepage. Digital resources are more visible, mobile responsiveness is better, and the navigation overall feels more intuitive. There’s definitely still work to do, but this work has really helped us set a solid foundation and a clear direction going forward.”
“Overall, the process felt well balanced — enough structure to keep things moving, but still plenty of room to experiment and shape the vision together. It was a fun and rewarding project to be part of, and it meant a lot to finally see something we’d been imagining for a long time start to take shape. I’m really grateful the Co-op invested the time, energy, and resources into this work, and I’m excited to keep building on it.” – Genevieve Zichy, Assistant Director
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Beaver Valley Public Library:
Beaver Valley Public Library took this opportunity to simplify their homepage, take their site full-width, and revamp the classic look and feel to be more clean, simple, and user-friendly. Check out their site at beavervalley.bc.libraries.coop
Testimonial
“My two main goals […] were to freshen/update the look of our website and to gain some confidence around working with the website, and those two goals were met. Working with technology is neither my forte nor my happy place, but Leah made it painless! They were very helpful and supportive, and I definitely gained confidence to poke around on my own and try to find answers, while also knowing that if I didn’t find the answers, I could get fantastic help. I can’t say enough about how nice it was to work with Leah.”
“Learning to use the Block Editor was a learning curve, but I’m not very savvy with this sort of thing and I was definitely able to get the hang of it. I really like the flexibility of the Block Editor. You can move things around and play with layout, and having various types of blocks to select from makes it easy to add different elements. I also find it makes it easier to achieve a more modern look.” – Sally Whitman, Library Director
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Salt Spring Island Public Library:
Salt Spring Island Public Library redesigned their site to highlight their events, programs, and digital resources on the homepage, and to promote their unique FabLab creation space. Check out their site at saltspring.bc.libraries.coop
Testimonial:
“Redesigning our library site from the classic WordPress editor to the block editor felt daunting, but the LibPress team made it a great learning process and incredibly smooth. They provided an easy tutorial alongside personal advice tailored to our needs. The block editor provides clear functional upgrades, offering flexible layouts and improved visual control without requiring custom code. The result is a highly functional, modern and clean website.” – Alexandra Hasenfratz, IT Manager
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Call to Action:
If you are a LibPress library who is inspired to redesign your site with LibPress 2.0, please feel free to submit a support ticket and our team will be happy to talk more with you about the process.
Whether you’re envisioning a full site overhaul or some smaller-scale updates, we can meet you where you’re at and help you work toward your goals. Some examples of the smaller-scale changes you can make:
- A full-width site like Fernie Heritage Library
- Remove the drop-shadow like Grand Forks & District Public Library
- Redesigning the homepage only, without changing any of your subpages