LibGuides Best Practices -- Compiled by Christine Forisha

LibGuides Best Practices

Compiled by Christine Forisha, Lone Star College, Houston TX,

from a discussion on cjc-l@lists.ala.org

Names/Words

1. URLs are subject or class, depending on specificity
2. Use the same terminology across guides. For instance, “e-resources” versus “databases”
3. Do common keywords/tags based on terminology from classes
4. Our team decided: create a name authority page in our sandbox guide to ensure continuity

Color/Layout

1. All use same color – use a master color scheme
2. Some have templates so all guides look the same
3. Three main topic templates – courses, subject, special

Admin Rights

1. Most senior librarian has rights, OR
2. Most “tech savvy” librarian has most rights
3. All staff involved have same level of rights to ensure ability to edit after people move on
4. Depending on size of staff, have one or two librarians as admins who are main point people edit global stuff, review for standards; others are editors

Other

1. Create a LibGuide of common boxes/A-Z List that isn’t public; link to these when creating guides so you only have to update one place (We’re calling ours the sandbox)
2. Keep the clutter down. Not too many tabs, boxes, text
3. Set a designated time once or twice a semester where each librarian reviews their guides for content, make sure links are working, updated
4. Market this awesome tool! Work with faculty to develop guides so they have buy-in and tell their students
5. Book: Using LibGuides to Enhance Library Services
6. Link Guides from library home page
7. Training – especially for larger libraries/staffs
8. Springshare’s help is awesome, don’t hesitate to take advantage of tutorials, etc.
9. Our team decided: create a marketing box that can be put in the contact column on the first page, which we can use to advertise what’s happening in the library that week. For instance, we have bi-weekly TED talks, book club, Privacy Week, and other events throughout the year.