According to springshare (n.d.), there are four main types of library guides that are useful to students and instructors. They are: Subject guides, Course guides, Topic guides, and General guides. This page will provide a brief introduction to each type and point to UNF library guides representative of the four types.
Subject guides are library guides to support different subject areas within academia. It is common for university and college librarians to author subject guides representative of majors of study at their university. Subject guides may provide a starting point for using the discovery tool OneSearch effectively, locating and using subject specific databases, as well as finding specific materials centered around each subject (i.e., books, e-books, print books, journals, newspapers, etc.).
Remember that you can search for UNF library guides by subject. This subject link shows a list of subject guides available to you. This list is organic and may change depending on student and faculty research needs. The number to the right of each subject area indicates how many guides are available representative of that specific subject area. Note: If you are a new political science student or you are in a political science course, you may consider using a political science subject guide as a springboard for starting your political science research. Subject guides may point you to the most appropriate research tools and materials to begin your subject specific research.
Practice by visiting the UNF library guide subject list. Select a subject representative of your interests or your major. Explore the guide and think about how the information in this guide may prepare you for future research papers or projects in your courses.
springshare (n. d.). LibGuides. https://springshare.com/libguides/
Course guides are library guides that are developed by a librarian and an instructor. These guides provide specific information for you to succeed in a specific course. Course guides may include pertinent information for mastering a project or research assignment in the course. Sometimes course guides may include a curated list of reading materials for you to review. Course guides include exactly what the instructor requests, thus they are unique to an instructor's instructional needs. Often, course guides are named by a specific course name. Your instructor will notify you within your syllabus and/or Canvas should you need to use a course guide for your class. Review the following course guides so that you recognize why librarians and instructors collaborate to enhance the UNF students' learning experience. You can see a comprehensive list of course guides by selecting "Type."
Note that this screenshot indicates that there are 12 published course guides. Here is a screenshot of the list of some of these guides:
As many students enroll in ENC 1101 or 1143, you are invited to explore the ENC 1101/1143 guide to understand why your instructor may work with a librarian to develop a library guide specific to a course. Note that the HUN 3800 course guide is more specific to an instructor's assignment as it walks the student through the steps to complete their HUN 3800 research project.
Topic guides are library guides that contain information in specific topic areas. The topic area may benefit more than one subject area or major, thus, they are best identified as a topic guide. You can browse the UNF topic guides by visiting the UNF library guide list. Next Select "Type." Note Topic is categorized within the type field.
Select "Topic Guide" to view the list of topic guides:
Find the Researching Family History guide. Take a few minutes to explore it. The Researching Family History topic guide may benefit an ENC Honors student working on a genealogy assignment but also appeal to history and archives students.
General Purpose guides provide general information on a program, service, or collection at the library. General guides may appeal to a large audience.
You can browse general guides by starting at the UNF Library Guides page. Select "Topic." Then click on the General Purpose Guides.
Here is a screenshot of a list of some of UNF Library's general guides holdings:
Note that the UNF Librarians created an Art in the Library guide to educate visitors on its acquisitions. The Finals Week at Tommy G's guide shares information on stress-reducing activities hosted at the library during the week of finals.
