Libraries around the world use LibGuides to create research guides for students. But is the user-centered approach often employed by libraries when creating these guides enough to meet the needs of today’s learners? A small task force of librarians at Oxford College of Emory University set out to answer this question. After studying the literature, it was found that very few studies focus on instructional design principles in the creation of LibGuides. Furthermore, an examination of their own library’s LibGuides revealed that while the guides addressed many issues of usability, learner-centered design was often absent.
(25 minutes) The first portion of the workshop will outline the efforts of the task force to create a LibGuide template for Oxford College’s new first-year seminar courses. The iterative design of the course guide template seeks to bring into symbiosis user-centered design and learner-centered practice. The goal of the template is to point students toward recommended resources and teach them valuable information literacy skills along the way. Results from the initial rollout and subsequent evaluation of the template will be presented.
(40 minutes) Attendees will then be divided into groups led by each of the presenters to share their libraries’ experiences in creating course guides. The groups will brainstorm ideas for how these teaching tools can better meet the learning needs of students. A laptop will be provided for each group so that attendees can evaluate their institution’s LibGuides. At the end of the workshop, each group will designate a speaker to present some of their group’s ideas (10 minutes)
