LibGuides Best Practices

To add a page (tab):

1. Click Add/Edit Pages.
2. Click Add New Page.
3. Type a name.
4. Click Create page.

You can often save time by copying an existing page and editing its content. To do so, choose Reuse Existing Page from the Add/Edit Pages menu.

You can rename, delete, or reorder tabs (pages) by using the same Add/ Edit Page link at the top and selecting the appropriate action.

To add a box:

1. Click on Add New Box on the bottom of a column.
2. Choose Create a New Box.
3. In most cases, you will choose either Rich Text/Dynamic Content/Scripts or Links and Lists. Choose the former for more free text-type boxes (or those in which you want to insert scripts or code). Choose the latter for lists of links/databases and descriptions. A big advantage to using links and lists is that statistics are gathered about link clicks when using this box type.  Choose Documents & Files if you wish to upload files and make them available for download.
4. Type a name in Box Title.
5. Choose a position in the Position dropdown menu.
6. Click Create Box.

You may also want to reuse an existing box so that any time the original (wherever it is in LibGuides) is changed or otherwise edited, the changes will be reflected in the linked box. If this is what you want to do, select "Link to another box in the system." An example of when you would want to link a box would be if you were wanting to copy the Ask Us box. You can also copy another box in the system, if you don't want changes to the original to change the one you are adding.

To edit or delete a box:

1. Use the edit link in the upper right corner of the box.

To add a link to a list:

1. Click Add New Link in a "links and lists" type box.
2. If the link you are adding is a library database:
• Click Reuse Existing Link.
• Start typing the name of the database in the Link Title box.
• Choose the database you are looking for. It should end with the text, "in A-Z Resource List."
• If you don't wish to make any changes to the database description, click Reuse Link.
• If you wish to create a customized description, type your own description in the Description box. Click Reuse Link. Do not check the "Make a copy..." box.
3. If the link you are adding is an external Web site that you suspect no one else has used on their pages:
• Type the name of the Web site in the Title box.
• Paste in the URL in the Link URL box.
• Type a description in the Description box.
• Click Create Link.
4. If the link you are adding is an external Web site that you suspect someone else has already used (Medlineplus, Statistical Abstracts):
• Click Reuse Existing Link
• Start typing name of the Link in the Link Title box.
• Choose the link you are looking for, it will say the page you are "borrowing" it from.
• At the bottom you maybe should click the "make a copy box".  Otherwise, if the other person deletes their link it will also delete from your page. 

Before publishing a guide, be sure to apply metadata so that it is appropriately sorted by subject, group, and type on the LibGuides homepage.

1. Click on the small sprocket icon in the upper righthand corner of the guide while editing.
2. Click on "Guide Type & Metadata."
3. Choose a relevant "Guide Type" and "Group."
   • The most common types are: course, subject, and topic 
4. After applying the Guide Type and Group, go back to your guide's homepage in edit mode and click on the little pencil next to "Subjects."
5. Click on the box and choose the most relevant subject(s).
   • If none of the subjects are appropriate, click on "Admin" at the top of the page and choose "Subjects, Tags & URLS" and add your subject(s).

In many cases, you will be given the choice to either make a copy of or link to something in LibGuides.  Often you will want to link to the other item (page, box, or link), because if the original item changes, yours will be updated, too.  This is especially true when linking to something like a database, where the link or description is likely to change in the future and all links need to be consistent throughout the system.  However, in other cases you may prefer to copy a guide or a box, especially if you intend to deviate quite a bit from the source box or page.

To publish a LibGuide:

1. Prior to publishing, decide if you want users to comment on pages/tabs or boxes. To disable or enable commenting, click Guide Look and Feel and then Toggle All Comments. To preview a guide in progress, click the Preview link at the top of the screen.
2. Click Guide Settings on the top menu, and then click Change Guide Information.
3. Choose Change Guide Status.
4. Associate the guide with a subject by clicking the Subject Associations tab. If the page is a disciplinary/subject page, assign it a subject. If it is a course page, choose the Course Pages subject. If it is a "How To" page (e.g., APA Style), choose the How To Guides subject.
5. Back at the Guide Settings tab, under Guide Publication Status, choose Change it to Published.
6. Set a friendly URL. Use lowercase and no symbols or spaces.  
7. Click Save.