LibGuides: Best practices

• Place the most important content where users are most likely to read it (see link below).
• Avoid creating guides that are only one page of content.
• Break long pages into multiple shorter pages.
• Use individual boxes on the page for individual concepts.
• An eye catching image can help bring a student into your guide and reinforce your message. 
• Create a table of content to clue students to the contents in the guide's various pages. Here is an easy way to create this TOC.

Use student-friendly language

• Use the words our students use.  By using keywords that your users use, you will help them understand the copy and will help optimize it for search engines. Many students do not understand library industry terms.
• Chunk your content.  Chunking makes your content more scannable by breaking it into manageable sections. Long paragraphs are hard to read online.
• Use short sentences and paragraphs. The ideal standard is no more than 20 words per sentence, five sentences per paragraph. Use dashes instead of semi-colons or, better yet, break the sentence into two. It is ok to start a sentence with “and,” “but,” or “or” if it makes things clear and brief.
• Front-load the important information. Use the journalism model of the “inverted pyramid.” Start with the content that is most important to your audience, and then provide additional details.
• Use pronouns. The user is “you.” The libraries are “we.” This creates cleaner sentence structure and more approachable content.
• Use active voice. “The board proposed the legislation” not “The regulation was proposed by the board.”
• Use bullets and numbered lists. Don’t limit yourself to using this for long lists—one sentence and two bullets is easier to read than three sentences.
• Use clear headlines and subheads. Questions, especially those with pronouns, are particularly effective.
• Use images, diagrams, or multimedia to visually represent ideas in the content. Videos and images should reinforce the text on your page.

- Excerpt from Writing for the Web 

• Whenever possible, use the Link or Database options in the Add/Reorder menu (example at right) instead of in-text links. 
  • ​Use the Database option if you are linking to a resource listed on our alphabetical databases listing on the Research page. 
  • Use the Link feature for non-database links.
  • Book from the Catalog allows you to place a link directly into Sirsi where a student can find the call number and place holds.
  • Using these system links allows for data collection and they are easier to maintain. Thus...
• Check to see if the link already exists in the system. That way we only need to change one link instead of many when a site updates. 
• Fewer is better. Users will be overwhelmed by long lists of resource links. Several sources strongly warn against listing more than seven links in succession. Choose the best resources, not every available resource. 
• Rank by relevance. Order the databases or resource links by their potential usefulness instead of listing them alphabetically.
• Include a short explanation for each link. Reused links and databases often include a description. However, editing the link allows you to create a custom description for your guide. Customize it as much as possible to your guide's readers. Make sure it is clear to the user why this resource is being recommended.

Video tutorials

• If you are creating video tutorials, keep them short and to the point.
• If longer than a couple minutes, break the video into components.
• Create a transcript of the tutorial and provide a link to the transcript with the video.

Embedding Films on Demand videos

• Double check that closed captioning and a transcript is available with the video.
• Add a separate link to the video page on FOD so students can access the transcript.

Other embedded content

• Use videos that have closed captioning at all times possible.
• Closed captions should reflect all sound including background noises and sound effects.
• It is also preferable to include a feature to enable users to control the close captioning during playback.
• In general, continually review external content to insure content is relevant and up to date.
• Try to avoid using embedded content from external applications like Scribd and Slideshare. In usability testing at Temple University, these external apps created confusion.