Using the LibGuides platform for more than just hosting electronic pathfinders

Abstract:

This chapter provides an overview of the LibGuides platform, its Web 2.0 features, its support and training services, and its relevancy in librarianship. The chapter describes best practices and pedagogical uses of LibGuides specifically and subject guides generally for teaching librarians. It also examines the use of LibGuides at specific institutions, and explores research into student use and perception of the platform. It discusses considerations teaching librarians need to be aware of prior to purchasing and implementing the platform at their institutions.

Key words

pathfinders

Web 2.0

LibGuides

subject guides

course guides

information literacy

distance learning

chat reference

Introduction

LibGuides (http://springshare.com/libguides/) is an online platform that allows libraries to create and maintain electronic pathfinders and other materials utilizing many Web 2.0 applications. It is currently being used at more than 3,700 academic, public, special, and school libraries worldwide.1 Librarians can customize their guides and

LibGuides site to create a uniform aesthetic, or create a variety of guides using various themes. Some librarians use the platform simply to create and house electronic versions of their print research guides or pathfinders. Others use it as their library website, or to promote library services and events. There are also many pedagogical uses of LibGuides, such as providing library and research instruction, homework assistance, and information literacy tools. Teaching librarians can create subject or course-specific guides to direct students and faculty to the most useful databases and other library materials in that area.2

While LibGuides offers many useful features and benefits to teaching librarians, it does so at a price. Depending on the size of the institution, the platform can be very expensive to implement. Librarians who are unfamiliar with Web 2.0 applications may find it difficult to learn to use. Some have difficulty getting patrons to find and use the materials they post on their LibGuides platform. Teaching librarians need to market the platform heavily to ensure patrons not only find but also use and explore the guides created at their institutions.

Web 2.0 features and support in the LibGuides platform

The LibGuides platform offers a range of Web 2.0 features that can be easily added to guides.3 The platform is tablet friendly, has mobile site capabilities, and allows teaching librarians to interact with patrons via social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Patrons can be informed when new guides are published in certain subjects or a particular guide has been updated by subscribing to email alerts and RSS (Rich Site Summary) feeds. Teaching librarians can make guides interactive by allowing patrons to submit links to guides, inserting interactive polls, or utilizing LibChat, a feature that allows patrons conducting research to chat with a librarian. Teaching librarians can also add information from outside sources by embedding media or podcasts and inserting active links to other websites. The LibGuides platform has a built-in link checker that alerts librarians to any broken links in guides so these can be fixed. The platform also gives teaching librarians the option to include Google Scholar, web, book, or patent search boxes in guides. Librarians can include a list of all available electronic databases and allow patrons to search the library's catalog directly from the LibGuides platform.

In addition to the many Web 2.0 features listed above, the LibGuides platform offers extensive support and training to its users. Librarians can create trial accounts to test out the platform prior to purchasing and implementing it at their institutions. Those who sign up for a trial account can access all features and test out the administrative functions as well. There is an extensive help site4 that introduces users to the platform and walks them through the basics of setting up their LibGuides account and adding collaborators (librarians who create the guides). Users can also find information on this site to customize5 their LibGuides platforms. Administrators can decide whether the guides at their institutions will follow a pre-set theme, with every guide using the same colors, fonts, and box types, or whether to leave those choices up to the individual guide authors. The help site includes information on best practices and has links to its community6 and 'best of'7 sites. The community site allows users to search every public guide available on the LibGuides platform, has forums for librarians to share thoughts and ideas, and hosts the LibGuides blog and Twitter feed. The 'best of' site houses excellent examples of guides from libraries around the world. Users can review these to get ideas for their own guides, use excerpts, or copy the guides completely to post on their LibGuides sites. The help site also includes a mobile site builder,8 which allows librarians to create a library site that their patrons can easily access and use on their mobile devices. Finally, the help site has a link to the training schedule,9 where users can sign up for free webinars on various topics throughout the year.

The platform provides several tools10 for librarians to monitor usage of their guides. The system summary report provides information on a library's LibGuides site in general, such as how many guides have been created, how many collaborators there are, how many times the platform has been accessed, and how many Web 2.0 features like embedded content, podcasts, and links have been included in guides. Librarians can also run reports on individual guides to see how many times they have been viewed, which links patrons clicked on, and whether the guides were viewed on the standard or mobile site.

Relevance and use of the LibGuides platform: a study

In 2011 Ghaphery and White11 conducted research on how libraries use electronic research guides generally. In their study, the authors compiled data from 99 university libraries' electronic guides and also conducted a separate survey of 198 librarians throughout the United States who create and use such guides. They found that a majority of the libraries studied use the LibGuides platform. Among the 99 libraries studied, 63 use LibGuides, and 129 of the 198 survey respondents use this platform to host and maintain their electronic guides. A majority of the survey respondents indicated that they also use the LibGuides platform to host course pages and instruction on the use of library resources. Forty percent of those surveyed include an alphabetical list of all library databases on their LibGuides site, while 31 percent include library information such as hours, directions, and staff listings. Ghaphery and White also found that some libraries instituted policies for use and maintenance of the guides on the platform. A majority of those surveyed indicated they have policies in place for the maintenance of guides, as well as style guidelines to ensure uniformity among the guides created at their institutions. Often links to outside sources are included in guides, and 46 percent of librarians surveyed stated that they have policies in place to check periodically that these links are still correct. Many of those surveyed indicated that they require certain information like pictures, contacts, operating information, etc., to be included in each guide. Some librarians even require training on the platform to be provided to guide creators.

Ghaphery and White also asked whether librarians evaluate their guides, and if so, how. About 23 percent of the respondents had no evaluation tools in place, while around 20 percent measured user statistics in their evaluations. The authors concluded that electronic research guides are now very common and a large number of libraries have selected the LibGuides platform to host their electronic guides.

This study indicates that LibGuides is heavily used in libraries throughout the United States. It also points out a need for librarians to create and adhere to policies on the use and maintenance of the platform. Teaching librarians should consider crafting policies to confirm that the content in their guides is up to date, links are functioning properly, and any style guidelines are followed by all librarian collaborators at an institution. Librarians may also want to implement an evaluation method to ensure that their intended audience is utilizing the guides.

Uses for teaching librarians - at the reference desk and beyond

Librarians are constantly engaged in teaching, whether in the form of formal pedagogy in the classroom or informal instruction at the reference desk. Teaching librarians can utilize LibGuides in many ways to improve their teaching and foster patron learning. The following are examples of ways librarians can incorporate subject guides on the LibGuides platform in the course of their work.

One of the easiest ways to incorporate the LibGuides platform into informal instruction is to create subject guides that answer recurring patron questions. These guides are especially useful during library...