Type of Presentation

Workshop (1 hour and 15 minutes)

Target Audience

Higher Education

Location

ELAB 21

Abstract

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).

Presentation Description

This workshop will begin with a short presentation illustrating the efforts of librarians at Oxford College of Emory University to bring user-centered design and learner-centered practice into symbiosis when creating course LibGuides. Attendees will then form groups to brainstorm ideas for LibGuides design at their own institutions. Ideas from each group will be documented and made available along with the presentation materials.

Session Goals

  • Attendees will learn about the need for learner-centered design methods in the creation of LibGuides.
  • Attendees will learn some of the characteristics of learner-centered design.
  • Attendees will participate in small group discussions and identify possible strategies for improving LibGuides design at their own institutions to better meet students’ needs.

Keywords

LibGuides, instruction, information literacy, information literacy pedagogy, usability, learner-centered practice, instructional design

Publication Type and Release Option

Presentation (Open Access)

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.

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Feb 22nd, 10:15 AM Feb 22nd, 11:30 AM

Seeking Symbiosis: Designing LibGuides that Bring User-Centered Design and Learner-Centered Practice into Harmony

ELAB 21

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).