LibGuides LibGuide: A Guide to Making LibGuides: Box Content: Databases, Books & Links

Click on the Add/Reorder button at the bottom of your box, and select “Database."

1. Enter at least the first 3 letters of the database name in the Search for Database box until you find the one you want. Select the database from the list to add the link.
2. Click on the edit button (pencil icon) next to that database link.
3. Under Description Display, select Do Not Display. If a description is necessary for your users, create your own concise 1-2 sentence description to display underneath the title.
4. Go back to the Add/Reorder button and select Rich Text/HTML.
5. Add this text: "For a full list of databases relating to this subject, including their descriptions, please go to A-Z Databases."
   • Depending on the nature of your guide, you may wish to link only to the databases in your subject area(s). You can do this by selecting subject areas (you can choose more than one) in the A-Z list, clicking Search, and copying the resulting URL.
6. Save and click the Add/Reorder button once more to move this text to the top of the box.
   • Important:  ALWAYS use these steps when adding a link to a database that we have in the database list! By doing so, you no longer need to worry about updating these links if the database URL changes. We will update the link in the master list and it will automatically update the links on all associated guides.
   • Off-Campus Access: There is no need to offer “on-campus” and “off-campus” links separately to our subscription databases. If you use the links from the LibGuides database assets list in your guides, the system will automatically provide a proxied link to the database. When users click on the links, off-campus users will be routed through the proxy login screen, while those that are on-campus will be routed through to the database without having to log in.

Click on the Add/Reorder button at the bottom of your box and select Link.

Creating a New Link:

To create a new link, fill out the form on that tab. You can enter a description that will appear under the link.

Reusing a Link:

If you have used a link on another guide, you can now reuse it. Choose the “Reuse Existing Link” tab. To find it, enter at least the first 3 letters of the link name in the Search for Link box until you find the one you want.

Subject Associations:

You can also add subject associations to your new links. Click on the “Subject Associations” tab and select the subjects you want from the list.

Ensure links and buttons contain descriptive text. Avoid generic phrases such as "click here," or "more information."

Where possible, avoid linking directly in Rich Text/HTML fields and use these steps to add links. This allows LibGuides built-in Link Checker to scan for broken links, which are not caught when added through Rich Text/HTML. If you do need to add links directly to the text, do so in bold so they are formatted the same as link assets.

Books should include links to their records in UC Library Search, which allows users to find more information and get access easily.

Click on the “Add/Reorder” button at the bottom of your box and select “Book from the Catalog”.

Enter an ISBN in the ISBN box, and click on “Get Book Info”.

1. Delete any information that auto-populates in the fields other than the title and year of publication.
   • If your book's subtitle did not populate and it would be useful for patrons browsing your collection, manually add it in.
   • If it is important for your users to see the author of a book on your guide (e.g. for a Literature course), you can leave that in.
   • If Syndetics doesn't populate an image of the book cover, save a high-resolution image from the web. Go to the Content tab in the main menu (look for the icon of two sheets of paper). In the drop-down menu, select Image Manager. You can upload the image to your library and click on the link button to copy it and add it to your book item.
2. Leave Use Proxy? set to "No."
3. Set Description Display to "Do not display."
4. In another browser tab, go to UC Library Search and search for the book.
5. Click on the record for the correct item.
6. Click on the permalink button, then click Copy the Permalink to Clipboard.
7. Return to your LibGuides edit tab. Paste this URL in the URL field for your book.

You can mix different kinds of links (databases or the open web) within the same box on your guide by using the Add/Reorder Content button and selecting "Reorder Content." You can drag and drop to combine and move these links around.