[Web4lib] Do you use LibGuides? - questions about subscription databases if you are a LibGuides library

Wed Mar 18 16:03:54 EDT 2009

So, the opposite question, then:  What is your workflow now when you _add_ a subscription database?  

Does someone enter it into your library website's main database/subject listings?  And then that same person adds it to LibGuides so the librarians can start adding it to their individual guides?

--Dave

==================
David Walker
Library Web Services Manager
California State University
http://xerxes.calstate.edu
________________________________________
From: Campbell, James (jmc) [jmc at virginia.edu]
Sent: Wednesday, March 18, 2009 12:58 PM
To: Brian Gray; Walker, David
Cc: Douglas Goans; web4lib at webjunction.org
Subject: RE: [Web4lib] Do you use LibGuides? - questions about subscription     databases if you are a LibGuides library

We don't require that everyone copy the entry in our A-Z list -- some people want to add subject-specific content to the general information.  But if they've created their link using the new copy link feature, then deleting the original deletes all the copies. After that it's usually easy to do a search and pull up a list of the few remaining affected pages.

There is also a global URL change.  People are not good at looking at their individual link check reports, but the administrator sees all of them and can just go in and change all reported bad links. Which is usually only 1-2 a month even on our fairly large site.

LibGuides is a compromise. It's cheap and easy for the basics and for some kinds of things it's really quite versatile.  It's cheap not only in the price, but also in the staff time required for both administration and page creation/maintenance.  But as with any templated system it does force you into a particular page layout and put limits on some types of customization.  My colleagues who want minimal effort and minimal Web knowledge are happy; my colleagues who are interested in Web 2.0 sorts of things are happy; a few people with complicated layout needs are less well served.

      - Jim Campbell

      Digital Access Librarian | Librarian for German
      University of Virginia Library | Charlottesville, VA 22904-4112

      513 Alderman | campbell at virginia.edu | 434-924-4985

-----Original Message-----
From: web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org [mailto:web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Brian Gray
Sent: Wednesday, March 18, 2009 3:35 PM
To: Walker, David
Cc: Douglas Goans; web4lib at webjunction.org
Subject: Re: [Web4lib] Do you use LibGuides? - questions about subscription databases if you are a LibGuides library

If each librarian used the link module, the administrator can override a
link in all the guides. I am not sure if it will do a delete. There is also
a built in link checker.

Brian Gray
mindspiral at gmail.com

On Wed, Mar 18, 2009 at 3:29 PM, Walker, David <dwalker at calstate.edu> wrote:

> I'm entirely unfamiliar with LibGuides, but interested in this question.
>
> What happens now, for example, if you end your subscription to a particular
> database.  Does each person who linked to that database from their guide
> have to find it and remove it themselves?
>
> --Dave
>
> ==================
> David Walker
> Library Web Services Manager
> California State University
> http://xerxes.calstate.edu
> ________________________________________
> From: web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org [web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org] On
> Behalf Of Brian Gray [mindspiral at gmail.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, March 18, 2009 12:18 PM
> To: Douglas Goans
> Cc: web4lib at webjunction.org
> Subject: Re: [Web4lib] Do you use LibGuides? - questions about subscription
>     databases if you are a LibGuides library
>
> We do not maintain our database list within LibGuides. We really do not
> think LibGuides was designed for that practice. We have many databases in
> our master list. Within the LibGuides the experts are able to mention some
> keep starting points rather than inte iterating all the databases
> available.
>
> http://researchguides.case.edu/
>
> http://library.case.edu/databases/rdbindex.aspx
>
> Brian Gray
> mindspiral at gmail.com
> bcg8 at case.edu
>
>
> On Mon, Mar 16, 2009 at 4:30 PM, Douglas Goans <libdgg at langate.gsu.edu
> >wrote:
>
> > The Georgia State University Library has transitioned to LibGuides for
> > research guides. Now we are having to reconsider the maintenance of our
> > database listings. If you are a LibGuide library and have just a couple
> > minutes, please give us some input that will assist us in making some
> > decisions.
> >
> >  1. Does your database lists in LibGuides display dynamically from an RSS
> > or XML feed from another source? Or are you manually adding, editing, and
> > maintaining the lists inside of LibGuides itself? Who is responsible for
> > maintaining the master list in your library...a subject librarian, a
> > cataloger, the web person, the e-resources person, a group?
> >
> >  2. If you maintain your lists manually within LibGuides, do you also
> > create subject specific sets [content boxes? channels?] as well for other
> > guides to automatically include? Or are your subject librarians
> responsible
> > for manually creating their individual subject specific sets within their
> > own guides?
> >
> >  3. If database metadata is maintained by one person natively in
> LibGuides,
> > do they maintain URLs, and database titles, and database descriptions? Do
> > they remove old or dropped databases and add new ones? Also, do they
> alert
> > everyone about any of the above changes? Do they perform maintenance on
> the
> > A-Z master list alone or do they also update all the subject specific
> sets
> > of databases? If applicable, how is this different if the database
> metadata
> > resides in an external system that feeds the data to LibGuides?
> >
> >  4. How extensive is your database category list? A dozen or less broad
> > categories? More? How are category labels decided and added? Where in
> your
> > organization does the responsibility lie for maintaining your database
> > category taxonomy and assigning or removing databases for those
> categories?
> >
> >  5. If your database lists reside natively in LibGuides, do you have an
> > alternative access method if LibGuides servers go down? If your proxy
> server
> > goes down?
> >
> >  6. If you are using LibGuides to manage your databases is it a guide(s)
> > that is unpublished and only used to populate active guides? Or are you
> > publishing that guide as your public "List of Databases" or "Database
> > Finder" system?
> >
> > 7. Any other thoughts regarding maintaining database listings within
> > LibGuides?
> >
> >
> > Related URLs:
> >
> > GaState's Historical List of Databases
> > http://www.library.gsu.edu/databases/
> >
> > GaState's LibGuides implementation
> > http://research.library.gsu.edu/
> >
> > Thank your for any information you may provide.
> > -Doug
> >
> >
> >
> > Doug Goans
> > Web Development Librarian
> > Georgia State University Library
> > 100 Decatur St.
> > Atlanta. GA 30303
> > Tel: (404) 413 2772
> > Fax: (404) 651-4315
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Web4lib mailing list
> > Web4lib at webjunction.org
> > http://lists.webjunction.org/web4lib/
> >
> >
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