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Libguide guide for Library Staff: Libguides starting point

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Top tip

you either love them or hate them.  However, you may be asked to create one sometime in your library career.  Some simple tips will ease the pain.

Libguides are a popular content management/web publishing platform developed in the US by Springshare.  Most Libraries globally are using one or other of the Springshare Library products.

KISS:  keep it simple and straightforward.  Always remember Less is more.

 

Some starting points

Before you begin first decide why you are actually creating this guide.  Does a similiar one already exist?  Perhaps an additional tab to an existing guide is all that is required.  Do not reinvent the Wheel!

Would the information be better entered elsewhere, e.g. On the Main library website or on a FAQ? Who will be the main users of you subject guide?  Is the language suitable for your audience?  Is the guide easy to find?  Have you received any suggestions or feedback from students, faculty or other library staff about your guide.

  • Keep colours and fonts the same throughout all guides.
  • Guide/page/tab names should reflect all of the content contained (e.g. if a page has 80% content on Spanish literature and 20% on Catalan literature, the title of the guide should not be just “Spanish Literature)
  • Also remember that Tab names should be similar across guides.  First tab should not be “getting started” on one guide and “start here” on another guide.
  • The way links behave (do they open in a new window, a new tab, or the same tab?) should be agreed upon across and within guides
  • Major content items like contact information should occur the same number of times and be in the same place on each guide
  • Style and grammar choices (i.e. formality, use of the comma) should remain consistent across guides.

There are two distinct templates being used in AIT library.  Either copy one of Una's guides or Michael/Assumpta's guides.  Una recently redesigned some of her Subject guides and reduced the amount of tabs and information.  This allows you to create a new guide very quickly using common elements such as Referencing tabs etc.