Improving LibGuides at a Health Sciences Library: A Case Study

Abstract

While LibGuides are widely used in libraries to curate resources for users, there are a number of common problems, including maintenance, design and layout, and curating relevant and concise content. One health sciences library sought to improve our LibGuides, consulting usage statistics, user feedback, and recommendations from the literature to inform decision making. Our team recommended a number of changes to make LibGuides more usable, including creating robust maintenance and content guidelines, scheduling regular updates, and various changes to the format of the guides themselves to make them more user-friendly.

Keywords:

• Academic libraries
• health sciences libraries
• libguides
• subject guides
• usability
• user research

Acknowledgments

We would like to acknowledge our colleagues at EHSL for their feedback and buy-in, as well as the users who provided feedback on our guides.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The authors report no funding is associated with the work reported in this article.

Notes on contributors

Lydia Howes

Lydia Howes, MSI, AHIP, ([email protected]), Assistant Librarian, Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA. Lydia Howes (she/her) is a Research and Education Librarian (Assistant Librarian) at the University of Utah’s Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library. She is a member of the Evidence Review Team, offering support for systematic and scoping reviews. Outside of evidence reviews, Lydia’s research interests largely involve improving library services and processes and creating digital learning objects and point-of-need resources to best meet user needs.

Elizabeth Frakes

Elizabeth Frakes, MSIS, AHIP, ([email protected]), Associate Librarian for Clinical Services, Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA. Elizabeth Frakes (she/her) is a Clinical Librarian (Associate Librarian) at the Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library specializing in providing evidence-based information to support research, patient care, and clinical decision support. In her decade of experience, her duties have included providing evidence packets to support order sets, complex reference requests, and other clinical decision support work. Elizabeth leverages her background as a certified pharmacy technician and case manager for her work in biomedical information science.

Yingying Zhang

Yingying Zhang, MLIS, MStat, MS, ([email protected]), Paraprofessional II, Salt Lake City School District, Salt Lake City, UT, USA. Yingying Zhang (she/her) is currently a paraprofessional in the Salt Lake City School District. During her tenure as a LibGuide Intern in the Eccles Health Sciences Library at the University of Utah, Yingying worked with other librarians on improving the LibGuides in the library. She has also been a biostatistician at the University of Utah where she provided statistical analysis on a variety of projects in the School of Medicine.

Donna Baluchi

Donna Baluchi, MLIS ([email protected]), Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion Librarian, Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA. Donna Baluchi (she/they) is the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Librarian at the Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library at the University of Utah. They endeavour to create an atmosphere across communities and within classrooms that is accessible, welcoming, safe, and inclusive for all who seek library services, and build bridges for those considering careers within health professions. Her research interests include health disparities, zines, and data privacy.

Carmin Smoot

Carmin Smoot, MLIS, MA, ([email protected]), Digital Publishing Program Manager, Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA. Carmin Smoot (she/her) is the Digital Publishing Program Manager at the Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library at the University of Utah. In this role she assists in building and advancing digital library collections and OER repositories. She has developed research interests that include best practices for digital asset accessioning and preservation, inclusive description, and increasing access to archival collections.

Nena Schvaneveldt

Nena Schvaneveldt, MSLIS, AHIP, ([email protected]), Associate Librarian, Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA. Nena Schvaneveldt (she/her) is an Education Librarian (Associate Librarian) at the Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library at the University of Utah, and currently serves as Associate Director of Clinical, Research, and Education. Her research explores information practices and lived experiences of health professions students and professionals in order to understand and incorporate their expertise in her regular work.