Research Guides: Creating a LibGuide: Create a Guide

Creating a New Guide

From Scratch
Copy Existing (Template)

Before creating a new guide from scratch, run a search for an existing LibGuide on your subject or course topic to avoid duplicating content unnecessarily.

If a new guide is necessary, complete the following steps.

Under Content choose Guides.
Click Create Guide.
Choose Start fresh.
From the Use system default template drop-down, select System Default - Side-Nav Layout.
Add a guide name, description, and assign a guide Type/Group.
Click Create Guide.

When reusing pages or content from another guide, carefully consider whether or not you'll be editing that content. If you do plan to edit, please choose Copy Assets so that another person's content is not affected by the changes you make on your own guide.

Reminder: Before publishing your guide, review the Best Practices for creating a LibGuide to ensure that your guide meets the recommended guidelines.

To copy an existing guide, complete the following steps.

Under Content, choose Guides.
Click Create Guide.
Choose Copy content/layout from an existing guide.
From the Select a Guide drop-down, choose a guide to copy.
1. If you're wanting to work off of a template guide, use the Blueprint Guide.
Select the box next to Copy Assets to create copies so that your changes will not affect the original guide.
Add a guide name, description, and assign a guide Type/Group.
Click Create Guide.

Reminder: Before publishing your guide, review the Best Practices for creating a LibGuide to ensure that your guide meets the recommended guidelines.

Naming Your Guide

If you are creating a course guide you should include the course prefix and number followed by the course name. Many students do not know their course numbers so if you do not include additional identifiers your students may have a hard time finding your guide.

Bad Example: "MGMT 100"
Good Example: "MGMT 100: Introduction to Management"

Note: If it is necessary to include the instructor's name in the guide name, please use the following format: "MGMT 100 (Instructor Last Name): Introduction to Management".

If your guide isn't course specific, try to use a short, but descriptive name.

Good Example: "African American History, Culture, Race and Identity"
Better Example: "African American Studies"

There aren't any formal rules for naming User Guide & Tutorial or Workshop & Event guides other than to be as descriptive and concise as possible. The name of the guide should be informative with supporting details in the guide description.

Located under the guide name at the top of the page, a guide description is a brief sentence that gives the user a quick overview of the type of content that is included within a specific guide. A guide description is required.

location of guide description under guide title

This description also appears on the Subject Guides list, when you hover over the information icon () next to a guide.

example of guide description in preview window

If you need to include more information, or want to give more of an introduction to the content of your guide, consider including an introductory content box or section within the body of your guide.

If you want to give users more information on the guide content or give details as to how the guide is organized an introduction section might be something to consider. An introduction section on a guide is not necessary and may not be appropriate for all guides.

example of an introduction content box that welcomes the user to the guide

Guide Type and Group

Guide type tells users the purpose of the guide and determines the default template.

Type	Description	Is it public?
User Guide/Tutorial Guide	Guide that provides specific instructions on how to use a database, tool, or resource.	Yes
Course Guide	Guide created specifically for a course, often in collaboration with or at the request of faculty outside of Libraries.	Yes
Subject Guide	Guide that serves as a starting point for research in a particular subject area or topic.	Yes
Workshop/Event Guide	Guide that promotes or helps supplement a workshop or event.	Yes
Internal Guide	Guide developed for Libraries staff and faculty only; displays internal documentation or training information.	No
Template Guide	Guide that is intended to be copied and used as a blueprint for new guides.	No

Guide group determines how a guide is organized in our system and our public collections (for public groups). In most cases, the guide group should match the guide type. For example, a Course Guide belongs in the Course Guides group.

Group	Description	Is it public?
Course Guides	Guides created specifically for courses, often in collaboration with or at the request of faculty outside of Libraries.	Yes
Subject Guides	Guides that serve as a starting point for research in a particular subject area or topic.	Yes
User Guides & Tutorials	Guides that provide specific instructions on how to use databases, tools, or resources.	Yes
Workshop & Event Guides	Guides that promote or help supplement a workshop or event.	Yes
Archive - Old Guides	Guides that are no longer needed and/or are outdated.	No
Inactive Guides	Guides that are not currently in use or planned to be used, but that could be brought back into a public group if there was a need; inactive course guides, etc.	No
Staff Resources	Guides created exclusively for internal users; training guides, etc.	No

When creating a new LibGuide or updating an existing one, you need to set the guide Type and Group. This option can be found at the top of the page under the guide description.

To set or change the guide Type or Group,

Click on the pencil icon located next to the Type/Group option in the top portion of the guide (just below the description).
Select the same options from both drop down menus.
1. Note: There are exceptions to the Type and Group matching, but in most cases they should be the same.
Click "Save."