Special collections and the new web: Using LibGuides to provide meaningful access

Barbara Lewis, University of South Florida
Melanie Griffin, University of South Florida

Article comments

This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of copyright holder for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Electronic Resources Librarianship, Volume 23 Issue 1, January 2011. doi:10.1080/1941126X.2011.551091 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1941126X.2011.551091)

Abstract

Librarians have long struggled to find user-friendly mediums to provide meaningful information to patrons; using bibliographies, pathfinders, and subject guides with varying degrees of success. Content management systems, such as Springshare’s LibGuides, have recently been developed to facilitate the creation of online subject guides. Special Collections units also struggle with this issue. This article examines how special collections are presented on the Web, the use of LibGuides for special collections, and how the use of LibGuides is facilitating the goal to provide information in a meaningful way by Special & Digital Collections at the University of South Florida Tampa Library.