Loading…
Back To Schedule
Wednesday, March 20 • 3:30pm - 4:30pm
Guiding the Way Forward: Mobilizing Staff to Build a User-Centric LibGuides Collection

Log in to save this to your schedule, view media, leave feedback and see who's attending!

Feedback form is now closed.
In July 2018, the College of Charleston Libraries hired a new Virtual Services Coordinator as well as a new User Experience Coordinator. These librarians, in addition to their reference and instruction duties, inherited oversight of a suite of Springshare products, including an extensive collection of LibGuides. Despite using guides for most library web pages, content and design had not been systematically reviewed since migration to LibGuides v2 in 2014. With departmental support, the newly hired librarians have set a goal of establishing and implementing best practices for guide development and maintenance that are informed by user research, universally designed (with special attention on reducing cognitive load), and feasible for librarians to keep up with alongside of various other duties. So far, a number of non-Springshare tools, including browser plug-ins and Google Forms, are being utilized so that part-time and student staff can assist with checking guides for broken links, even if they do not have a LibGuides account. Enlisting help from these staff makes the project more manageable for overstretched librarians, who then have more time to implement deeper changes to their guides. Best practices for designing, standardizing, and maintaining guides are being written. A plan for usability testing based on an existing student library advisory board is currently in the works. We envision an ongoing program of review, testing, and revision to foster a dynamic, user-centered web experience.

Speakers
avatar for Amanda Kraft

Amanda Kraft

Research & Instruction Librarian, College of Charleston
Amanda Kraft is the Undergraduate Student Engagement Coordinator in the Research & Instruction unit at the College of Charleston (CofC) Libraries and serves as the subject liaison to various departments in the CofC School of Business as well as the Department of Computer Science... Read More →
avatar for Gretchen Scronce

Gretchen Scronce

Librarian / Library Support, College of Charleston



Wednesday March 20, 2019 3:30pm - 4:30pm CDT
Olin-Rice 100