UBC LibGuides: Guidelines

UBC Library has over 500 published guides for users to choose from. Before creating another guide, consider the following questions:

• What is the unique library instructional topic that you plan to address with your guide?
• Is there an existing guide that could be modified or added to in order to meet user needs?
• Who could you collaborate with on content to address the instructional gap that you're working to address? 
• Is the instructional need specific to one class/assignment, or will it have enduring value for users? Consider creating a course guide and publishing it for a limited time to support this need

To create a new guide, log in to LibApps and, in the LibGuides Shortcuts box, choose "Create Guide." 

You can either create a guide from scratch by choosing "Start Fresh," or you can make a copy of an existing guide to use as a template.

Springshare: Create, Copy and Manage Guides

Each guide must be attached to at least one branch/unit LibGuides account. This serves two purposes:

1. branch accounts allow for guides to be updated when people are on leave from work without any account management
2. branch accounts help to facilitate an annual review process

A list of branch/unit accounts can be found on Confluence.

Springshare: Assign editors to a guide

The LibGuides platform supports numerous types of content. In all cases, you can create new content or reuse existing content. When reusing, you have the option to "map" or reuse as-is (without the ability to edit), or, to copy content and then modify it.

Springshare instructions:

• Add, reuse or edit pages
• Add boxes to pages
• Add content items (assets) to boxes
• Add links to Databases A-Z
• Add gallery boxes

All guides require contact info. Guidelines for how to format contact info are found on the Accounts & contact info page

This standard layout is intended as a base to try and create consistency for students. There is still room for flexibility if this doesn't work for your content. In the "guide navigation layout settings" - picture of mountains icon in top right of screen - check both boxes so that you show subpages in side navigation as well as the boxes on the selected page.

1. Top page: Title: Overview
   • include a box titled "About this research guide" and provide a brief description of its purpose
   • On this page include brief contextual information which may include: UBC websites, Related guides, Key definitions, Acknowledgements 
2. Second page: Title: Key resources
   • Include a subtitle if needed, example: Key resources: Articles
   • Locate the key resources for this subject and/or topic on this page
3. Additional pages about resource types benefit from consistent language: Articles, Books, Historical sources, Research data management, Theses, Citing sources
   • Keep page titles as short as possible so that students can easily scan for relevant content
4. As noted above, the final page should say "Contact for research help" and include at least one profile box, though it may include more than one, and may include an AskAway chat box or additional branch contact info as appropriate

Do you want your guide to appear in the Research Guides portal?

• If the answer is yes:
  • follow all of the steps on the Guide Organization page to assign a type, group, subject, and tags
  • create a friendly URL (this helps patrons to navigate the URL and impacts the LibGuides internal relevance search)
    • it is the best practice to assign a friendly URL to each page
  • follow the steps here for a "published" guide Publish Your New Guide
• If the answer is no:
  • do not assign your guide to a type, group or subject
  • create a friendly URL if you want
  • follow the steps here for a "private" guide Publish Your New Guide
  • Users must have the URL to be able to navigate to your guide, they will not be able to search for it and find it (in Google or LibGuides)