Virtual Pathfinders: LiveBinders and LibGuides

Subject guides, annotated resource lists, and pathfinders are all tools that we school librarians have used to help teachers provide lesson resources and propel student research. Given the quantity of information at all levels of quality that is at our fingertips, these guides provide focus and direction to students. It is, therefore, important to know about tools that provide a format to curate, organize, and share resources in an easy-to-use format.

TWO TOOLS

This article will take a look at two tools:

• LiveBinders: a free Web tool with optional pricing for more storage. LiveBinders offers free accounts to build the virtual equivalent of the three-ring binder.
• LibGuides: a subscription-based customizable framework for virtual resources. LibGuides provides templates and library branding in a tabbed format.

Depending on the library budget and goals, both of these tools can be valuable additions to your information arsenal. First, a general discussion about using guide tools like these, then a quick overview of each product.

Why invest time and effort in learning yet another new product when there is an existing library website? Aren’t the web links on a library home page enough? Isn’t the library blog or twitter feed sufficient? The short answer is no. Rather than a list of links, or series of pages with links, these tools can give structure to a virtual reference collection that is aligned to the needs of teachers and students. To provide support for specific projects and classes, LiveBinders and LibGuides provide an easy to use framework so that school librarians can focus on the content and add expert advice and guidance. Both tools have been developed for librarians and are written—and shared—by librarians.

The challenge with any new tool is getting started. Think about your goals for Web guidance for your students and faculty. Set up a general research guide to provide a framework for students. In addition to links to sites, discuss project requirements specific to the teacher. Discuss responsible use of online resources, use of subscription databases, and so on.

Set a goal to build one resource that would be helpful to students, and try out the tool. For the long term, set goals for creating guides each quarter, semester, or a number of guides per year. Already have links on existing Web pages? Make an appropriate transition plan to move to a new format. LiveBinders is free and can be embedded on the existing library website. Link to those created by others that will benefit projects students are undertaking. On the other hand, LibGuides requires putting money on the line; it has an annual fee. If this is the tool you choose, ensure its adoption by developing a plan to share with those who will approve the purchase. Become the force for focused research in the school community, providing content rich resources for students and faculty.

LIVEBINDERS (http://www.livebinders.com/)

To use LiveBinders, sign up for a free account. Log in and Take a look at the home screen. To the left are navigation tools, in the center are your binders with tabs at the top, and to the right, categories of binders for searching. Check the “My First Binder” to get started with an overview and tutorials. Next, see what others have done with binders. LiveBinders is a great element to add to your personal learning network. Check the tab for featured binders. Choose the education link on the right navigation bar to explore the binders others have created. See something that would be useful? Mouse over the binder image to choose options. Choose “add to shelf.” The left navigation gives options to create shelves.

Ready to create a new binder? Follow the prompts to name the page, provide an access link, and add tags. On the workspace for the new binder, start with a URL. Use the edit menu tabs to add text, insert media, upload files, and set up additional tabs and subtabs. Whatever is chosen, instructions make using this tool easy. Binders can be private with a link to be shared for access as needed, or they can be public making them viewable on the Web. Choose what works best for the situation.

In addition to collecting related resources for research, LiveBinders can be used in presentation mode. This can be useful in projected learning and in the sharing of resources if students use this as a project tool. LiveBinders can give students a way to organize their own learning. Rather than keeping a simple list of links, they can add text to explain why the resource is useful and share quotes or ideas from the site to include in projects.

LIBGUIDES (http://springshare.com/)

Springshare’s LibGuides is heavily used by university libraries and, over the last several years, school libraries have joined the community. The LibGuides concept is that each organization pays an annual fee for the service based on number of users (students per schools). Springshare provides a customizable platform with modular-based templates. Libraries share their LibGuides with the understanding that members can borrow from their colleagues. Springshare has a member list so you can see pages worldwide and by category. Check for school libraries to get ideas of what can be done. Springshare has a “free trial” form to check out their product before purchase. Once subscribed, there are webinars and training materials galore to get you started.

Once a trial is in place (or a subscription started), sign in to the site to access the dashboard. On the opening screen, Springshare provides news and updates, and recommends training materials. A toolbar across the top of the screen gives tools to make changes to templates, share pages, and give collaborators access to pages. LibGuides are tabbed pages, with each page made up of modules that can be arranged and rearranged on the page. The modules are based on content—from links lists to embedded media to links to outside tools like dates and events, Google searches, and Delicious tag clouds. There can be as many pages and tabs as needed. Once a template is established, it can be copied within the site.

As administrator, the school librarian has control of the site, but can give access to others to add elements, review pages, and more. This can apply to the whole site or to individual pages. So, for instance, if a page is being created for Mrs. Winkler’s chemistry project, the librarian can set up the page, and then include Mrs. Winkler as a collaborator who can add content.

Why pay when other tools are available for free? School librarians spend loads of time creating content, and a subscription can be insurance against tools that disappear from the Web (e.g., PageFlakes and Searcheeze). Value added elements include a built-in link checker, usage statistics and reports, quick links to social media, and RSS and email updates. Support is key to the use of any product, and Springshare gives many options from webinars to tutorials to tip sheets and searchable help.