[Eril-l] FW: LibGuides A-Z list used for list by subject - Was RE: Database A-Z list options

Tue Jun 14 07:41:02 PDT 2016

Yes, I set my subject areas up, but our director wanted something that selects by subject (religion and theology) and then displays by resource types (articles, ebooks, etc.). I don't think the bento box can do this yet, but I'll ask Springshare about it.

http://vts.libguides.com/az.php?s=90046

Cindy Harper

From: Susan Henthorn [mailto:Susan_Henthorn at berea.edu]
Sent: Tuesday, June 14, 2016 10:07 AM
To: Hinchliffe, Lisa W; Harper, Cynthia; eril-l at lists.eril-l.org
Subject: RE: [Eril-l] FW: LibGuides A-Z list used for list by subject - Was RE: Database A-Z list options

Our approach is very similar: http://libraryguides.berea.edu/az.php

In addition, we use the area on the right to highlight New/Trial Databases.

Susan
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Susan K. Henthorn, Reference Librarian &
Electronic Resources Coordinator
Hutchins Library, Room 213                                                  (859) 985-3268
Berea College                                                   susan_henthorn at berea.edu<mailto:susan_henthorn at berea.edu>
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From: Eril-l [mailto:eril-l-bounces at lists.eril-l.org] On Behalf Of Hinchliffe, Lisa W
Sent: Monday, June 13, 2016 11:24 PM
To: Harper, Cynthia <charper at vts.edu<mailto:charper at vts.edu>>; eril-l at lists.eril-l.org<mailto:eril-l at lists.eril-l.org>
Subject: Re: [Eril-l] FW: LibGuides A-Z list used for list by subject - Was RE: Database A-Z list options

You can see our approach here: http://guides.library.illinois.edu/az.php

These are also the subject categories for our LibGuides.

We also tagged each database by the type of information it contains/indexes. (We did a pretty extensive analysis of the categories that other libraries had used when we developed this since our previous system did not have this category of tagging.)

Our favorite feature is the "best bets" that puts at the top of the list the starter databases recommended in a particular area.

Not perfect but with over 800 databases it is a lot to wrangle. We have benefited greatly from the participation of our subject librarians.

--
Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe
Professor/Coordinator for Information Literacy Services and Instruction
University Library 434, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 61801, 217-333-1323, ljanicke at illinois.edu<mailto:ljanicke at illinois.edu>

From: Eril-l <eril-l-bounces at lists.eril-l.org<mailto:eril-l-bounces at lists.eril-l.org>> on behalf of "Harper, Cynthia" <charper at vts.edu<mailto:charper at vts.edu>>
Date: Monday, June 13, 2016 at 3:10 PM
To: "eril-l at lists.eril-l.org<mailto:eril-l at lists.eril-l.org>" <eril-l at lists.eril-l.org<mailto:eril-l at lists.eril-l.org>>
Subject: [Eril-l] FW: LibGuides A-Z list used for list by subject - Was RE: Database A-Z list options

From: Harper, Cynthia [mailto:charper at vts.edu]
Sent: Monday, June 13, 2016 2:45 PM
To: Smith, Kelly <Kelly.Smith2 at eku.edu<mailto:Kelly.Smith2 at eku.edu>>
Subject: LibGuides A-Z list used for list by subject - Was RE: [Eril-l] Database A-Z list options

While we're talking about Libguides A-Z list: our users were not used to an A-Z listing, but a list by subject topics. After filling our A-Z list content, I wanted to use that content to populate a subject-categorized database list.

This is hwat I've come up with so far. http://vts.libguides.com/eresourcesBYsubject<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__vts.libguides.com_eresourcesBYsubject&d=CwMGaQ&c=8hUWFZcy2Z-Za5rBPlktOQ&r=Cw4xGASMCncc39MlCw3DJcBf5v0jr6KyTbn4LdjJG30&m=hp0-8hBibdliRB3_1zU7ce_23LF6_vUCN6AmRjPhUHw&s=Uka4lAwhQMhBhFqJRry6mlx0o_eSKedj4Eltz1mLsdI&e=>
Has anyone else addressed this in a more elegant way? I confess I haven't even looked to see how this displays on a mobile device.

Cindy Harper

From: Eril-l [mailto:eril-l-bounces at lists.eril-l.org] On Behalf Of Smith, Kelly
Sent: Monday, June 13, 2016 2:20 PM
To: 'Katherine Collins'; 'eril-l at lists.eril-l.org<mailto:'eril-l at lists.eril-l.org>'
Subject: Re: [Eril-l] Database A-Z list options

We're using Libguides A-Z functionality and we like it very much. http://libguides.eku.edu/az.php<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__libguides.eku.edu_az.php&d=CwMGaQ&c=8hUWFZcy2Z-Za5rBPlktOQ&r=Cw4xGASMCncc39MlCw3DJcBf5v0jr6KyTbn4LdjJG30&m=hp0-8hBibdliRB3_1zU7ce_23LF6_vUCN6AmRjPhUHw&s=T9bLt9FzF1ncjB4jMJHQ9gNCyvWsGgYBC22z2CAN4V4&e=>

Its main strength is the seamless integration with individual guides - when we make changes to a database name, description, or URL, it automatically updates in all of the individual guides. It also populates a subject-specific Database tab on the individual subject portals (example: http://libguides.eku.edu/sb.php?subject_id=403<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__libguides.eku.edu_sb.php-3Fsubject-5Fid-3D403&d=CwMGaQ&c=8hUWFZcy2Z-Za5rBPlktOQ&r=Cw4xGASMCncc39MlCw3DJcBf5v0jr6KyTbn4LdjJG30&m=hp0-8hBibdliRB3_1zU7ce_23LF6_vUCN6AmRjPhUHw&s=kkwPg85SgnCWjJniBRr-prYO5G6Wb0213MBm-abpUkU&e=>). You can easily integrate locally created icons as a visual clue to the type of database it is. It has a "best bets" option for each subject so that if there is a long list of databases attached, the most important ones rise to the top. You can also run usage analytics.

I can't really think of any weaknesses.

When we first implemented, we had a really long list of database types/icons, and the screen looked really cluttered. So we took a step back and simplified, which required going back and re-thinking. I wish we had started more simply.

It does what we need it to do, but we've requested one enhancement... You can see on our page that we've implemented a 'Database status' update box that is driven by the Status Management feature in LibAnswers - it is used to publicize known problems, downtime, etc. We wish that the Status Management functionality lived in the Libguides A-Z list rather than LibAnswers. Every time we have an announcement about a particular database, we have to manually create a "Product" in Status Management, and then delete that product when the problem is resolved. It would be much easier to have some status feature in the A-Z attached to each resource that we could choose a status, enter a note, and it would appear in the A-Z list as well as LibAnswers.

Kelly Smith
Coordinator of Collections and Discovery
Eastern Kentucky University Libraries
kelly.smith2 at eku.edu<mailto:kelly.smith2 at eku.edu>| Research Guides<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__libguides.eku.edu_prf.php-3Faccount-5Fid-3D300&d=CwMGaQ&c=8hUWFZcy2Z-Za5rBPlktOQ&r=Cw4xGASMCncc39MlCw3DJcBf5v0jr6KyTbn4LdjJG30&m=hp0-8hBibdliRB3_1zU7ce_23LF6_vUCN6AmRjPhUHw&s=dOIFIoMbSMWnTJk4-zMnQW6ZYGMKyo_bP0E431NMO0I&e=>

From: Eril-l [mailto:eril-l-bounces at lists.eril-l.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Collins
Sent: Monday, June 13, 2016 1:54 PM
To: eril-l at lists.eril-l.org<mailto:eril-l at lists.eril-l.org>
Subject: [Eril-l] Database A-Z list options

Hi all-
We presently have Metalib for displaying our A-Z database list, but are starting to investigate other options. What are others using to display your list of databases?
Do you like it the tool you're using?
What are the strengths/weaknesses?
What do you wish you'd known before implementing?
What do you wish it did that it doesn't do?

All feedback is very much appreciated.

Thanks,
Katy

--
Katherine Collins
Manager of Electronic Resources
Brandeis University Library and Technology Services
415 South Street
Waltham, MA 02454
phone 781-736-4731

--
Katherine Collins
Manager of Electronic Resources
Brandeis University Library and Technology Services
415 South Street
Waltham, MA 02454
phone 781-736-4731
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