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Introduction to Best Practices in UX design for LibGuides: Home

Welcome!

Welcome to this workshop entitled "Introduction to Best Practices in UX design for LibGuides". Learning goals for this workshop are:

  • To gain a basic understanding of usability;
  • To hear about some of the research on this topic;
  • To learn about and contribute to best practices for design of LibGuides
  • To see some examples of good LibGuides
  • To have time to work on your own LibGuides and to evaluate areas for improvement or LibGuides that are adhering to these best practices that could serve as template sites for other librarians

Best practices for guide descriptions

To ensure uniformity with subject guide descriptions, please follow these rules and see the example description below.

Location: Insert directly below title. Do NOT put description in first box at top of the page.

Length: Description should no more than two sentences long - the shorter the better.

Content: The description should be about the materials in guide, not the major or program.

 

Guidelines to follow when working with LibGuides

  1. Follow the proper naming convention to insure easy access to guide.
  2. Course guides should not have subpages.
  3. Use columns and boxes to shape content in a way that gives it meaningful context
  4. Stick to the LibGuides default fonts.  If you need to emphasize text, consider using the headings provided.  This will enable a consistent look and feel.
  5. Follow ARL's Accessibility best practices. ALT TEXT for images, table labeling, form labeling, meaningful link text, and captions for media are required by law.
  6. Be brief!  You have 3 seconds or less to attract readers' attention.

LibGuides v. 2 reference sheets

Profile Picture

We want to see your picture and so do students! Remember to upload your picture (or maybe a picture of your cat if you don't want your face up there).

To upload a picture click on your email in top right on the orange bar, then "My profile" and add a picture under "profile image".

LibGuides at Virginia Tech

LibGuides are a learning platform. They transform the way people experience our collections and the knowledge these collections make possible. They do this by providing new pathways to discovery, access, and utilization of information. The Libraries seek out ways to integrate LibGuides into the student and faculty experience from use in classes, to curate and showcase content relevant across classes, and to use at the reference and circulation desks.

Need help?

If you have questions about creating a LibGuide or need help navigating the website, please contact:

Lisa Becksford
Learning Services and Educational Technologies Librarian
(540) 231-4997

Reusing Content

"Copying" a box means there are no links between your box and the original.  You can update your box without affecting the orginal, but any updates to the original won't show up in your text.

"Linking" a box retains links between your box and the original.  Updates to the original will show up in all the linked boxes.  You can't customize a linked box.