Best Practices for Librarians using Libguides

When adding a link to a subscription resource or other database, always check for an existing link.  (Reusing links from the database list is important because updates to the A-Z list will not be reflected on your guide if you create a duplicate entry.)

• Click on the "Add / Reorder" button at the bottom of the box.
• Select database
• Use the search bar to find the database.

Always use an existing link if there is one, even if you want to change the description.  Custom descriptions can be added even to existing resources.

To add a custom description, select the appropriate database and add your description under the existing one.  (You may also use the existing one if it suits your needs.)

If you don't see your resource from the database list, then choose the appropriate resource type (Link or Books from the Catalog) and reuse an existing resource:

Step 1: Choose Resource Type

Step 2: Choose the "Reuse Existing Link" tab and search for the resource (remember that some resources might include or drop articles—e.g., "The Cambridge Companion . . ." vs. "Cambridge Companion")

Step 3: Select appropriate resource and hit save. Avoid creating a copy of the link to cut down on the number of duplicate assets--even if the link is deleted from the original guide it was created for, it will not be deleted from your guide. 

If you do not see your resource in the list, then you'll need to Create a New Link.

To Reuse an Existing Box:

1. Select the "Add a New Box" link on an existing page.
2. Select the "Reuse Existing Box" tab in the pop-up window.
3. Use the dropdown menu to find the guide from which you'd like to copy a box.
4. Check the "Make a copy" box at the bottom of the window.
5. Edit and re-title as desired.

N.B.: The Popular Content guide has several useful boxes.  In particular, the "Search Tips" box provides guide builders with a helpful template.

If you'd like to use the "Search Tips" box on your guide, we recommend that you:

1. Copy the box (instead of simply reusing it)
2. Edit the content of the box to include relevant search terms where indicated by the phrase "relevant search term
3. Use Photoshop or a similar application to add those search terms to the Venn diagram image

Also see the Citation guide for reusable content.

To reuse an existing page:

1. Select the "Add/Edit Pages" menu from the dashboard.
2. Select "Add/Reuse Page."
3. Select the "Reuse Existing Page" tab.
4. Choose the appropriate guide from the dropdown menu.
5. Check the "Make a copy" box at the bottom of the window.
6. Edit as desired.

N.B.: It is a good idea to reuse specific types of pages once you have created them for your subject area.  For example, a "Search Tips" page for a history course would be useful to reuse in other history course guides.

Instead of adding links to other guides as simple hyperlinks, be sure to use LibGuides built-in guide links.

Step 1: Select "Guide List" from the "Add/Reorder" dropdown menu

Step 2: In most cases, you will manually select the guide.  To do so, choose "Manually Selected Guides" and search for the appropriate title

Step 3: Hit save