More than just a walk through: Connect library users to resources with new 360 tools

Abstract

New embedding and hyperlinking features of 360 tours have the potential to significantly impact how users access information and library services. This article examines current uses, benefits, and challenges of 360 tours for academic libraries. Librarians at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s Edith Garland Dupré Library are creating tours that serve as a point of access for library services, information, and instruction. Based on their own experiences and rooted in practices from early virtual online library tour development, the authors identify best practices for 360 tour creation and areas of opportunity for future development and testing.

Keywords:

• Library orientation
• virtual library tours
• 360 tours
• virtual library instruction
• virtual reality
• designing learning spaces