LibGuides - Information Overload Prevention

Over the last few weeks I have been able to spend more and more time at the Reference Desk assisting patrons and learning more about the wonderful resources available for our information seekers.  One of these resources is the LibGuide.  Reference Librarians generally develop these resources as guides that will lead students "to books, journal articles, internet resources, and more on whatever topic you are researching" (http://mc.libguides.com/index.php).

According to Olympic College (http://libguides.olympic.edu/faq), LibGuides are "customized electronic guides that...Librarians create to better help students with their research...Each guide is customized to a particular class or even to a specific assignment, so students can know which resources and strategies will likely yield the best results.  We can embed files, links, RSS feeds, videos, and custom widgets, as well as link directly to all of our electronic databases and eBooks."

The Libguides Training libguide at Southern Illinois University Carbondale (http://libguides.lib.siu.edu/training) goes into some detail about these incredibly useful guides.  They state that libraries use libguides to:

• integrate multimedia content into library services
• promote library resources to their users
• create subject guides, course guides, information portals, research help pages, etc.

The point of this helpful resource is for a trained information specialist (ie. librarian) to gather the mass of existing information that so easy overwhelms users and then place the most relevant information in the most applicable medium to make finding information the easiest for those who are seeking specific information on a specific subject or for a specific class.  In other words, Reference Librarians gather information on a specific subject or for a specific class that is relevant to their students.  They include videos, tutorials, and links to various journals, books, or websites.  Librarians can use this guide for providing brief instruction as well.

Over the next few weeks I will work on creating a Libguide for Mississippi College's faculty and patrons that will provide guidance on researching, writing, obtaining, and managing grants.  There will be a few general sections that could apply to almost anyone who wants to get involved with grants.

With this said, be on the look out for a future blog post mentioning my completed Grants Libguide.