All of the guidance in the general content guidelines also applies to LibGuides. There are a few special considerations for LibGuides, though, which are detailed here.
This document supersedes the previous MSU Libraries LibGuides Standards and Practices.
Use of LibGuides should be reserved for "guide content:" content meant to guide users in researching a specific subject or discipline, building research skills, using a specific software, completing a specific course, etc. It can include bibliographies, tutorials/how-tos, and more. "Guide content" can also include supplemental resources for a workshop - recorded sessions, handouts, slides, etc.
You can link Subject and Course guides to Canvas courses so that your guide content will display in Canvas.
You can associate multiple guides with a single course, and multiple courses with a single guide. Courses with multiple associated guides will see a page that displays a link to the guides, the Database A-Z list, and the LibChat widget. If the course is associated with items on Course Reserves, these will also appear.
Courses with no specific integrated guides will see a general "Library Resources" guide.
| 1 | Log into LibGuides. Find your guide and click Edit. |  |
| 2 | Click on the Guide Information icon. |  |
| 3 | Choose Guide Metadata. |  |
| 4 | Click the Custom Metadata tab. |  |
| 5 | Click "Empty" to enter custom metadata. |  |
| 6 | In the field that comes up, type "context_label" and then the blue checkbox.. |  |
| 7 | More options will appear. Click the "Empty" option under Value. |  |
| 8 |
To attach a guide to all the courses offered in a department, enter the department's code with a dash; this code may be 2 or 3 letters. (e.g., CHE-, CO-). To attach a guide to a specific course, enter the full course code, including section if necessary (e.g., EN-1304-57). |
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| 9 |
To add your guide to more courses or departments, click the "Empty" option under the next Name line. Otherwise, click Close. |
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Go to Canvas and check your department or guide to make sure the metadata works. You should see a "Library Resources" menu item which displays a page listing the course's connected guides, the Library Resources guide, the appropriate A-Z database subject list, the LibChat widget, and the subject specialist. |
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Once you've reviewed your guide, you can publish your guide with a few more clicks.
Your guide's status will be displayed in a colored button at the top right of the page. Click this button and choose "Change Status & Share":
The Guide Status popup will appear. In the first dropdown ("Publication Status"), choose "Published" and click Save.
Once your guide is Published, email Web Technologies so we can ensure everything is accessible and properly formatted. If we find any errors, we will catalog them and send them to you. We are happy to help you fix tough ones! If issues are not addressed within two weeks, we may need to hide the boxes containing the issues so that those issues are no longer public.
Any of the following criteria make a guide eligible for archival. The final decision of whether or not to archive a guide is reached through discussions with the guide's owner, department head, and DIWS staff.
Sometimes guides simply fall through the cracks. That's okay! If the guide is still useful and relevant, you don't have to archive it; you have alternatives.
