Resource Lists: We Need Your Help!

A Saturn V rocket discards a stage during the launch on an Apollo mission (image in the public domain, courtesy of NASA)

So you know what our proposals are for managing resources in LibGuides – here’s the bit where we come to you to ask for help!

We need to get descriptions written for all resources on the A-Z list, and the basic details (on and off-campus links, any password information, etc.) checked. We also need to start collecting details of resources that you have on your subject lists but which are not on the A-Z list of resources. This is where you – and by “you”, I actually mean “liaison librarians” come in.

Resources Currently in the A-Z List

There are (at the time of writing) 457 resources on our A-Z list. We will distribute these fairly, based on a rough estimate of FTE liaison librarian staffing to each subject team. Within your team it will be up to you to decide who does what work. We need you to:

• Check that the resource is still current, and that the on and off-campus links work
• Write a brief description (500 characters max.) for each resource
• If appropriate, write an additional full description (5000 characters max.)
• Check that the button settings (e.g. “Freely Available”) are correct
• And if it is a freely available resource, consider whether it warrants its place on the A-Z list at all

Resources Not on the A-Z List

No doubt you have many resources listed on your subject pages that are not on the central A-Z list. Any that you want to keep linking to when we move to LibGuides will need to have their details on the database of resources (though note that they don’t have to appear on the public A-Z list itself). For these:

How Should You Handle This Work?

How each subject team deals with this is up to them – please bear in mind these points:

• Each resource should be checked to ensure that it’s current and that the links still work
• Each resource must have a brief description – full descriptions are nice, but optional
• Resource descriptions should be written by liaison librarians (I hope that’s obvious!)

What Happens When The Work is Finished?

Once all of the information is on the database, SpringShare will upload it all to LibGuides for us. At this point the Access database will have completed it’s job and – like the 1st Stage of a Saturn V rocket – it will be discarded. From this point on, any changes and additions to the resource lists will be requested by a form on the J drive. We’ll show you how to use that nearer the time.