Style Guide and Best Practices (libguides)

Step 1: Before creating your first guide, you will need to fill in information on your account. Please watch this five-minute video to get you started-- LibApps Overview: Your Account Info. (You will be asked to log-in).

Step 2: Springshare has excellent how-to guides to walk you through the process of creating your first research guide. Visit this page: Springshare Support the Basics and click on the tabs for the overview. At the top of the first page is a printable Libguides Basics Step-by-Step that you may find very helpful.

If you prefer a video format, click here-- Getting to Know Libguides: How to Build a Guide.

Step 3: Read through the other tabs on this guide (Guide Naming Standards, Profile Boxes, and Content page) for guidelines specific to GCC Library.

Step 4: Follow the directions on the Copy the GCC Template Guide page to copy the General Guide Template by Sean.

Step 5: Before publishing make sure you can check all the boxes in the Publication Checklist.

The goal of standard naming of pages and URLs is to make the page easier for users to find and to know the content of the guide. 

• Subject/Discipline Guides should be titled with the subject of the guide. Examples:"Citation Help," "Style Guide and Best Practices."

• Course Guides should follow this pattern: Subject Abbreviation; Course Number; Course Name; Instructor (if applicable). Example: ENG101: First-Year Composition (Nielson). *Note- no space between course abbreviation and number.

• All guides should have standard URLs and include the shortened course designation/ prefix (if applicable). Example: http://guides.gccaz.edu/styleguide.  
• In addition, you should create a friendly URL for each page of your guide. Example: http://guides.gccaz.edu/styleguide/basics.

Overview:

The profile box should include a picture and contact information for students and faculty to reach you regarding questions related to the guide you have created. Click on title and contact info tabs for specifics.

• See sample profile box for this guide.

Title:

• Box Title: Library Faculty or Library Adjunct Faculty

• Optional to include liaison and/or specialty area

Contact Info:

• Email: include the email address in the "address spot" in the contact. Leave the "email address" BLANK. If the user has not designated an email program on their device, the Email Me button will not work.

• Phone number.

• Office number.

• In your account information, use the Library Contact page for yourself as the website option.

When to Use a Profile Box:

• General guides for classes (English 101) use Library Information box (located on the template or on the widgets guide), rather than profile box. *See sample to the left*

• Subject guides-- use Liaison profile box and/ or Library information box.

• Specific class guides (collaboration between librarian and instructor) Librarian profile box.

• Adjuncts- transfer any subject guides to liaison for ownership so liaison can add a profile box. Use new "Created by" widget.