Restructuring the Bryant & Stratton College Cleveland Virtual Library with LibGuides

This paper will discuss the complete restructuring of the Bryant & Stratton College Cleveland Virtual Library utilizing the LibGuides platform to replace an aging web design with a flexible, Web 2.0-compatible tool which users may access either on or off campus from desktop computers or mobile devices. The paper will first examine selected professional literature to establish best practices developed by librarians at several academic libraries that have implemented LibGuides, then discuss how the LibGuides platform was utilized at the Cleveland campus to design an information architecture supporting multiple academic subject areas and providing a selection of high quality academic research materials in electronic format, including research databases, academic journals, and eBooks. The paper will also address the creation of appropriate metadata (including appropriate LCSH subject terms, abstracts, and tables of contents) to aid users in locating desired materials. The paper will then discuss the multiple ways in which students are trained to successfully use the new Virtual Library, including in-person reference interviews, in-class bibliographic instruction sessions, targeted emails, and short instructional videos. The paper will conclude with a discussion of ongoing work with individual faculty to provide access to selections of virtual library resources tailored for individual class assignments.