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Kiss Your Handouts Goodbye: LibGuides: Overview

How LibGuides Can Revolutionize Your Instruction - ATLA 2010 Annual Conference. This guide was originally created by Michelle Spomer.

What Else Is There?

There is definitely free and open source software out there with which to create online guides. Some are more similar to Libguides than others. For a list of subject guide open source software, see the "Subject Guide Software" section of the "Resources" page. In an attempt to provide software that is most similar to LibGuides, database-driven subject guide software was not included in this list.

How Much?

LibGuides are not free. Pricing is based on institutional FTE (see graphic below). The cost includes hosting, usage statistics, customer support, LibGuide community forums, LibGuide tutorials, automatic link checking, and more.

libguides cost

Here's a more specific breakdown of cost by FTE (provided by SCELC):

pricing 

For more information on pricing and a free trial, click here.

What Are LibGuides?

LibGuides are used to create online, multimedia guides in order to promote library resources, to provide research instruction, and to share knowledge and information in general. They consist of several different, customizable boxes (widgets) that can incorporate many of the current Web 2.0 technologies (RSS feeds, del.icio.us link clouds, videos from YouTube, etc.).

Quick Facts

  • 125,000+ LibGuides by 25,000+ librarians
  • 50+ million page views per month
In addition to subject guides, LibGuides have been used for library websites, new faculty library orientation, presentations, and more. To see examples of these uses, see the "LibGuide Examples" section of the "Resources" page.

libguide example


Why Did We Choose LibGuides?

APU Libraries decided to go with LibGuides, rather than one of the free, open source options, for these reasons:

  • The IT staff person responsible for library technology is really only part-time, and doesn't have the time it would take to implement and maintain open source software - LibGuides are hosted by Springshare, so they take care of server issues, infrastructure, backups, etc.
  • In addition to the previous point, no real technical skill is required to set up the system or create guides. Software such as Drupal and WordPress require much more expertise to use (both as an administrator and as a guide creator).
  • LibGuides are easily shared and updated - not only is it easy to borrow LibGuide boxes (widgets) from co-workers' guides, but it's also easy to borrow from another institution's guides (of course, getting permission to borrow is expected).
  • LibGuides developers add new features regularly based on user input, and those features are pushed out automatically (no need to upgrade or install anything). With open source products, a manual upgrade is usually necessary whenever new versions come out.
  • There are so many other features that are included in the cost that aren’t usually included with open source software, such as broken link analysis, usage statistics, customer support, and a community website where LibGuides users can share tips, best practices, etc.
  • While LibGuides software isn't free, we thought that the cost was quite minimal in comparison to the benefits, features, and convenience (not to mention when compared to how much we spend on journal article databases every year).