website re-re-design?

[Jeff Wisniewski]

Our library system undertook a major website
redesign about a year and a half ago. We've been
please with the results, and user feedback has
been generally positive. We have a lot of refining
to do, are working to make the site as accessible
as possible, are currently improving our search
function, etc. as the site is a continual work in
progress, but my question is this: How often might
it be necessary to redesign a site that's about a
year and half old, that has been constantly fine
tuned during that time?

We are happy with the general structure, so any
change would most likely be mostly cosmetic, but
would this change be necessary or desirable? One
the one hand, we've made a great investment in
this specific design, have produced posters and
handouts and such using the site's design
elements, and many users are we think at this
point comfortable with the look of the site. On
the other hand, we know that this design is not
forever, and wonder if an "old" design might
equate to "out of date" or "not up to date" in
some users' minds, and don't want to be , or
appear to be, complacent

If anyone else has grappled with this question, or
has any thoughts or advice, they would be much
appreciated.

Jeff Wisniewski

--
Jeff Wisniewski
Web Services Librarian
University Library System
University of Pittsburgh
voice:
412.624.4050
fax:
412.648.7887
email:
jeffw at imap.pitt.edu