LibGuides: Transform Teaching in the Library with LibGuides: Facts about Library Guides

Introduction

This page will define the term library guide. Additionally, you will learn how library guides positively impact research readiness beyond K-12 learning, along with how school librarians, teachers, and study coaches can leverage library guides to prepare students for higher education.

What are Library Guides?

Defining the Term Library Guide

Library guides "clearly and concisely point users to ways to begin the research process and call their attention to information sources that users might not otherwise find. They have the added benefit for libraries of highlighting underutilized resources (Glassman & Sorensen, 2010, p. 281)."

Library Guides often provide lists of reference materials, books, e-books, research tools, and/ or databases.

Picture of a library pathfinder. This example shows the UNF Library intro page for the pathfinder on biology.

Moukhliss, S (n. d. ) Screenshot of UNF Biology library guide.

Reference

Glassman, N. R. & Sorensen, K. (2010). From pathfinders to subject guides: One library's experience with LibGuides. Journal of Electronic Resources in Medical Libraries, 7(4), 281-291. https://doi.org/10.1080/15424065.2010.529767

Library Guides Pros

According to springshare (n. d.), library guides are widely used by academic, school, and public libraries (130,000 librarians worldwide).
Library guides integrate into a variety of LMS Systems including Canvas (Daniel, 2016).
Library guides are discoverable. You can find published library guides from all over the world in a simple Google search.

Library Guides Challenges

Library guides are underused.
Students do not know what they are nor how to find them (Bagshaw & Yorke-Barber, 2018; Ouellette, 2011).
A majority of students Google or use faculty-suggested resources when they begin their research (Liu, 2020).
I argue that library guide content and design may be weak as Krasulski (2014) discovered that library graduate programs do not provide ample training to MLS students on teaching others how to research and discover information.
Library guides can be difficult for students to maneuver, include unnecessary content, and too much library speak (Sonsteby & DeJonghe, 2013).
Library guide information may not always follow rules for cognitive overload but should (Liu, 2020).
Library guides are under-promoted to faculty and staff (Dupuis, 2011).
Library guides were developed as pathfinders for information (Stevens et al., 1973) and I argue they have been slow to evolve from pathfinders to stand-alone instructional materials.
Furthermore, I argue that the majority of library guides have not evolved to reflect what they are today--integrated course content.
Per Lauseng et al. (2021), library guide users discover library guides in a variety of ways (homepage; Internet searching, etc.) but as noted through my personal research, authors of library guides do not always introduce the term "library guide" to the external users who come across them when Googling for research help.

References

Bagshaw, A. & Yorke-Barber, P. (2018). Guiding librarians: Rethinking library guides as a staff development toolLinks to an external site. Journal of the Australian Library and Information Association, 67(1), 31–41. https://doi.org/10.1080/24750158.2017.1410629

Daniel, D. (2016). Embedded library guides in learning management systems help students get started on research assignments. Evidence Based Library and Information Practice, 11(1), 76–78. https://doi.org/10.18438/B8J32H

Dupuis, J. (2011, February 10). A stealth librarianship manifesto [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://confessions.scientopia.org/?s=A+stealth+librarianship+manifesto+ [Google Scholar]

Krasulski, M. J. (2014). “Where do they come from, and how are they trained?” Professional education and training of access services librarians in academic libraries. Journal of Access Services, 11(1), 14–29. https://doi.org/10.1080/15367967.2014.867728

Lauseng, D. L., Howard, C., Scoulas, J. M., & Berry, A. (2021). Assessing Online Library Guide Use and Open Educational Resource (OER) Potential: An Evidence-Based Decision-Making Approach. Journal of Web Librarianship, 15(3), 128–153. https://doi.org/10.1080/19322909.2021.1935396

Liu, W. (2020). Knowledge map: a creative visual path to library guides and resources. Electronic Library, 38(5/6), 943–962. https://doi.org/10.1108/EL-03-2020-0055

Ouellette, D. (2011). Subject guides in academic libraries: A user-centred study of uses and perceptions. Canadian Journal of Information and Library Science, 35(4), 436–451.10.1353/ils.2011.0024

Sonsteby, A. & DeJonghe, J. (2013). Usability testing, user-centered design, and LibGuides subject guides: A case study. Journal of Web Librarianship, 7(1), 83–94. https://doi.org/10.1080/19322909.2013.747366

springshare (n. d.). LibGuides. https://springshare.com/libguides/

Stevens, C., Canfield, M., & Gardner, J. (1973). Library pathfinders: A new possibility for cooperative reference service. College and Research Libraries, 34(1), 40–46.10.5860/crl_34_01_40

Library Guides are Essential

Despite the reported weaknesses of the library guide, it is the primary tool that academic librarians use to teach about research, tools, and services that the campus library offers to students.

Research indicates that:

Students who visit the Library are stronger (https://www.naspa.org/blog/the-impact-of-librarians-and-library-resources-on-first-year-and-incoming-students)
Library instruction at College/University level helps to increase student retention (https://libguides.franklinpierce.edu/retention)
Librarians teach with Library Guides during One-shot Instruction

Incoming students are not ready for college- level research but school librarians can bridge this gap! (https://www.slj.com/story/lacking-research-skills-students-struggle-school-librarians-solve-college-readiness-gap-information-literacy).

How K-12 Educators Can Support Students Who are on the Paths to Higher Education

School LIbrarians/Library Assistants and Classroom Teachers, Tutors, and Coaches can:

Introduce K-12 students to library guides so that they are familiar with them as they enter college/university/higher education
Encourage making library guides
- You don't have to buy the springshare platform. Instead, consider creating a similar format in a Google Doc!
Encourage teachers to teach with library guides
Curate library guide lists to share with the school (Library guides are freely available to access worldwide!).