A review of a library using the curation tool ‘Libguides.’
I have chosen to review the Presbyterian Ladies College, Claremont, Western Australia .
The school have used the curation tool Libguides. The homepage has an information skills process chart which displays information visually about the NSW Inquiry Process. Then each stage of this Inquiry Model has its own tab across the top of the guide. When you click on each tab the stage is explained in greater detail with a video link attached.
The libguide also has a ‘Directory Tab’, which takes the user to a clickable list of a number of libguides which aren organised with Year group tabs and topic titles which link to the Australian Curriculum. It is useful that the libguides are colour coded for each subject. It is very easier to find relevant libguides and easy for the user to quickly see what different libguides have been created. The directory also includes a tab for APA referencing.
When clicking on a specific topic, you are directed to a page with an attractive visual banner relevant to the topic which has a subheading for learning Framework – Concept, Content and Skills. This gives a quick overview of how the guide links to the curriculum. Underneath there is a resource key which explains how resources are categorised in three levels of reading difficulty. I can see how this would be helpful to students, so they can choose to read at a level they are comfortable with. Included is also a suggested reading list tab. This page contains examples of print/digital books in the library catalogue and interestingly, a QR code specifically for non-fiction. When the QR code is scanned by a mobile device it directs you to a softlink URL which then takes you to a curated list of non-fiction resources available within the library catalogue.
On the main libguide page, after the suggested reading list tab, there are tabs for film clips, images, research tips and APA referencing.
Overall the guide shows a relevant wide breadth of information and it is easily accessed and navigated. It is quite attractive but perhaps a little conservative. There could be more visual formats included
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