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SpringyNews - Teamwork Edition

June 2022

LibGuides Tips & Tricks - Teamwork Edition

In the spirit of teamwork and collaboration, this round of LibGuides Tips and Tricks is all about helping teams work better, together, and independently! Read on for some LibGuides tips that are easy to implement and will make a meaningful impact. 

1. Create a Staff Intranet with LibGuides CMS (Admin Level Users)

You already use guides to share information with your students and patrons, why not use them to share information with your staff, too? Internal guides can be used as helpful training tools or as central hubs to share information about your organization’s policies and procedures!  

Here's How You Do It

Creating a staff intranet is just like creating any other guide, but there are a few things you should keep in mind during the initial setup. 

  • From the LibGuides homepage, go to Content > Guides > + Create Guide 

  • Select "Start fresh" or Copy Content > Comunity > Search for "internal guide" to find and use a Springy blueprint guide! 

  • Make sure you select “internal guide” as the Guide Type so the guide doesn't display in your public guide list. 

Guide link displaying with and without thumbnail image

Springy Tips for Staff Intranet Pages 

  • Have Clear Intentions - add a welcome page explaining the intended use of the guide.
  • R-E-C-Y-C-L-E, Recycle - Consider adding a reusable content section with helpful information or styled templates that your staff can reuse when creating their own guides.  

  • Make Your Springshare Tools Work Together - Use a Media/Widget asset to embed an instruction or programming calendar from LibCal or FAQ group from LibAnswers.

  • Think About Access - How many layers of security does your Staff Intranet need? Internal guides do not appear on your guide list (unless someone is logged in) but people with the direct URL can see them. If your organization has LibGuides CMS, adding a password or creating internal groups with specific user access will add additional security layers. 

For more on how to create a top-notch staff intranet (including instruction for all tips mentioned here!), check out this recorded training session! 

2. Add a LibChat Widget to Your LibGuides Profile Box (All Users)

Adding a LibChat widget to your LibGuides profile box is a great example of Springy Tools working together to help you reach library users in new ways! This is a great tip for subject specialists who want to offer a direct chat option right from their subject guides. We suggest using the button pop-out style widget, so your chat will pop out into a new browser window, allowing the user to navigate to different pages without leaving your chat session behind! 

Here's How You Do It: 

  1. From LibAnswers Dashboard go to LibChat > Chat Widgets > Create a new one or reuse one you’ve already made.

  2. From LibAnswers > LibChat > Chat Widgets: Locate the chat widget you want to use and click on its View Widget Code (</>) icon in the Actions column. You'll see that the embed code for a widget consists of two parts -- you need to include each on your page in order for the widget to work. 

  3. Copy both pieces of widget code. 

  4. Click on your email address (located on the right-hand side of the top menu) to navigate to your LibApp account. From there, go to My Profile > Widgets. 

  5.  Click on "Empty" next to the "LibCal Widget Code" option and paste in your two pieces of widget code! 

  6. Voila! You've added a personalized chat widget to your profile box! Now, your chat widget will appear on any Guide that includes your profile box. 

profile box with chat widget

For more on adding LibAnswers Chat Widgets to your LibGuides Site, check out this recorded training session

3. Add Comment Tags to Your HTML (All Users)

Have you ever gone back to edit your LibGuides HTML months or even years after initial implementation and felt confused and a little bit lost? Whether the original code was written by yourself or a coworker, it can be challenging to parse through what's going on, especially if the code isn't fresh in your mind. This is where the comments tag comes in handy! Adding comments directly into your site's HTML is a great way to communicate small tidbits of information. Comments are ignored by browsers so your users won't see them when they navigate to your site. 

How to do it? 

  • To add a comment in HTML, insert information between <!-- and --> tags. Something like: 
    <!-- Add More Details Here -->

When to do it? 

  • Places you'll need to add more information later
  • When you update a specific piece of information 
  • Explain why you've done something in a specific way 

4.Store Database 'Admin' Data in your A-Z List (Admin Level Users)

profile box with chat widget

Here's a quick way to make sure everyone on your team is on the same page! Organize your database login credentials, stats or SUSHI passwords, and other login credentials right inside your LibGuides Database A-Z List!

Here's How You Do It 

Set up Your Credential Types

1. Login to LibGuides and navigate to Content > A-Z Database List > Settings tab > Login Credential Types.

2. From here, add your login credential types (i.e. SUSHI, Stats Portal, Admin). 

4. Navigate to each database > edit. Then add the applicable login credentials for each one!

5. Say goodbye to post-it notes and shared docs! 

5. Internal Discussion Board to Facilitate Staff Communication (All Users)

Did you know that each and every LibGuide has a built-in internal discussion board? These are a great place to share ideas, review content, and more! To access a guide's internal board, click on the Internal Discussion Board () button in your guide options, which will launch the guide's internal board in a window. 

For any guide's board you can:

  • Create new discussions from the "Add New Discussion" panel.
  • Reply to existing posts by clicking on the post title.
  • Filter/search for posts by title.
  • Click on a tag to filter posts in the board by that tag.