In this Issue:
Since our first newsletter in May 2010, we've been releasing LibGuides Tips & Tricks in one format or another.
Starting in February 2012, Springy Tips & Tricks became a standard article in all Springshare newsletters.
Flash-forward six years, we've combed through all 29 editions and selected our most crowd-pleasing popular ones.
Introducing our LibGuides Greatest Hits Album, five of our best ever Tips & Tricks, rereleased and digitally remastered for LibGuides v2.
From one of our most popular LibGuides Tips & Tricks newsletters in 2013, tips for keeping your guides fresh blasted to the top of the charts. Let's remaster these freshness strategies for LibGuides v2 so that your visitors will come back again and again.
While some things change, this important fact hasn't: since it attracts the most eyeballs, the first page in your guide is the most important. As the first page users see, it's important to keep your 'Home' page up-to-date and fresh.
Best Bets - Not all users have time to read the entire LibGuide (though they should!). Create a 'Best Bets' box on your guide homepage to outline the best bet resources on that topic. This way, the most important information is front-loaded on the first page of your LibGuide.
While your guide content might not change much over time, a great way to invigorate your guides is to constantly add new images.
​Rotating Image Gallery Box - Nothing draws eyes to your guide's homepage than visually stimulating images in a rotating slideshow.
Disclaimer: Please read the licenses and TOS of each of the sites suggested below before downloading images.
A fan favorite from our February 2013 newsletter, tips for using LibGuides in the Classroom, focuses on introducing interactive elements into your LibGuides.
Let's revamp them for 2016, and beyond!
Like opening a window on a spaceship, building a LibGuide shouldn't be done in a vacuum. Collaborate with teachers, volunteers, involved parents, colleagues, and even fellow librarians around the world on building a guide together. This way, the very nature of your LibGuide is rooted in interactivity - guide creation founded on valued partnership and open communication.
An oldie, but goodie - the polls asset type! Are you using it enough? Polls are a great way to gather informal feedback on-the-fly.
A great way to prompt users to interact with you is to pose a question via a guide-level discussion board (navigate to a guide > add page > discussion page type).
A study by Hubspot found that Facebook posts that are 'questions' get significantly more comments than non-question posts. Bottom-line, creating a question-style post can increase user engagement.
In our July 2012 newsletter, we featured time saver tips & tricks guaranteed to make your guide building smoother and faster. Our 2016 tips are just as cool and promise to make your life a whole lot easier too!
With LibGuides v2, hiding content is now more granular than ever. Rather than having to create a hidden page and move boxes to it, you can show/hide individual boxes.
With our latest LibGuides update, we've now added the ability to tag images in your image library with searchable keywords. This way, you can search for images by titles & relevant keywords!
Add as many keywords as you'd like to maximize image findability.
A great timesaver and tool for ensuring consistency across all guides is adding a box ID to a guide template. Adding a box ID to a guide template automagically adds that box to every guide using that template. Just imagine, you'll never again have to make sure that guide-authors are adding your 'Ask A Librarian' box to your homepage.
Time Saved. Sanity Saved. LibGuides Saved. </mindblown>
Since manipulating guide templates does require advanced HTML knowledge, the following instructions are not for novices.
If you're new to LibGuides templates & Bootstrap, we strongly recommend you take our LibGuides Admin Customizations: Templates Training session or watch the recording before attempting the below.
You've been warned. :)
With every Greatest Hits album release, artists tend to sneak in a new track (or two!). So, while this particular gem hasn't been featured in any previous newsletter (we couldn't believe it either), it's time that the LibGuides Search & Replace Tool had its moment in the sun.
The following Springy Tech Tip Video focuses on all the glory of the Search & Replace tool, and S&R'ing only part of a URL.
Like Yesterday and Yellow Submarine, some B-side tracks can often eclipse their A-side hits. When we first released our 'Best Practices for LibGuides' training session on Feb 9th, 2012, we had a modest 14 registrations.
Registrations grew over time but nothing prepared us for the monster B-side hit when we released our Building Better Guides Tips in the December 2012 newsletter.
Like Strawberry Fields Forever, these tips for creating better guides are timeless. No remixing or remastering needed.
You're probably rolling your eyes at this one a bit - I mean, look at how much we've written on this page alone! But, you're all librarians - so you read every word right? Right!
Aaron Schmidt, a leader in library design, suggests that copy is most effective when it's cut in half and then cut in half again.
Less is not more, less is less.
- unknown
Reduce barriers by speaking clearly, removing unnecessary words, and cutting out jargon.
These simple steps can improve trust, aid the reader as they move through your content, and empower them to confidently act on it.
Jakob Nielsen found that, "on the average webpage, users have time to read at most 28% of the words during an average visit; 20% is most likely." ()
So make sure you get the best bang for your verbal buck with these tips.
Use This |
Not This |
"Search for books in the library catalog." |
"Use the library catalog to conduct a search for books." |
Avoid unnecessary words. |
|
"Get a library card." |
"To get a library card, click here." |
Start strong with a simple verb. |
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"Find articles in the library's databases." |
"Click here to search for periodicals in the library's databases." |
Use plain language and avoid library jargon. |
|
"Request an ILL Item." |
"To request an ILL Item, please click here." |
Avoid using 'click here' - users understand a link when they see it. |
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"ILL Requests take 3-5 days." |
"Please understand that ILL requests may take anywhere from 3-5 days." |
Avoid trying to sound 'polite' - short, active sentences are easier to read. |
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"Your Library Account." |
"Library Account Information." |
Speak to the user as "you". |