LibGuides: Sort of Homebrewed

Oklahoma Library Association Homebrewed Workshop

February 1, 2013

Dana Belcher

Assistant Library Director

Collection Services Librarian

East Central Universitydbelcher@ecok.edu

http://library.ecok.edu

LibGuides – Why?

• Staffing!!– 6 librarians– 7 staff– No one to build from ground up

• Easy to use! • Cheap!

– Based on FTE (< $0.30)– Really less than that – graphic add-on

LibGuides – Who?

• Springshare - http://springshare.com/ – They have all the techies– They built it – we came!

• ECU– Librarians, for now– Staff, training in process– It’s as easy as using a word processor

Springshare Resources

• Springshare Lounge– Blog– Newsletter– Springycamp– Suggestions– Other librarians with great ideas– http://springsharelounge.com/

How to do it• Information architecture• Multiple access points• Create templates• Create reusable content• Create rotating boxes• Take advantage of built-ins:

– Statistics– Maintenance

• Assign ownership

Information Architecture

UseUser

Instant Statistics ID Page Name Views

3418452 Main 131

3418454 Search 59

3418453 Plan 57

3418456 Using APA 19

3418455 Evaluate 6

275

ID Page Name Views

1929769 Home 1876

1930151 P 396

2052955 A-Z 160

2126048 Resources by Major 101

1930140 E 74

1930158 W 74

2119326 Newspaper Resources 66

1930136 A 65

2119290 General Resources 61

ID Page Name Views

2307482 Home 584

2307483Books, Articles, & More

274

2307484 Services for You 55

2384908Transfer Students

6

919

• Link-checkers: computer and human

• Linked boxes make updating easy• Maintenance standards for course &

subject guides– Student assistants continuously check links

Maintenance

• Responsibility– Main administrator– Other librarians

• Information – Pages – Blocks

• Collaboration with library staff & faculty• Peer & self evaluation

Content Ownership

Limitations: Linking

Lessons Learned

• Collaboration is king

• Don’t be afraid to use tools in new ways

Springshare Contact

David Colp, MLS

Regional Sales Consultant

518.772.9321

david@springshare.com

Let’s Get to it!

• http://ecok.libguides.com– Examples– Questions?

• http://libraryschool.campusguides.com/– Email– Password