LibGuides Instructions and Guidelines

The LibGuides Automagic tool enables you to embed guides directly into relevant courses in the UO's Canvas LMS. courses directly rather than making users go to the website for access. This allows you to give students the resources they need right alongside all of their other course information, links, discussions, etc.

Note: The guide must be fully Published not Private for it to show up.

The following instructions are a summary of the steps involved. For full instructions, consult the document linked below.

Options for Metatagging Guides

1. Tagging with the full course name - CDS 601
2. Tagging with course prefix - CDS
3. Tagging with full course title and CRN for section-specific Course Guides - CDS 601 (Winter 2017; 21386)

What is the difference?

Tagging with the General Course Prefix

• If you tag your Guides with CDS, it will push to ALL courses that begin with CDS in Canvas.
• You can tag multiple Guides with the general course prefix (CDS).
• However, you cannot mix the two metadata tagging methods.
  • If you have some guides tagged with CDS and some Guides tagged with CDS 601, the LibGuides tagged with the full course name (CDS 601) will always take precedence and the CDS Guides will not display.

Tagging with a Specific Course Name

• If you tag your Guides with CDS 610, it will push content to the CDS 610 Course only.
• You can tag multiple Guides with the Specific Course Name (CDS 610).
• However, you cannot mix the two metadata tagging methods.
  • If you have some guides tagged with CDS and some Guides tagged with CDS 601, the LibGuides tagged with the full course name (CDS 601) will always take precedence and the CDS Guides will not display.

Tagging with a Full Course Name with CRN

• Some courses use the same course number, but may need a CRN-specific course guide (e.g. seminar courses, Composition courses, etc.). If you need to add a specific guide to a specific CRN, you have the option of adding the full course title copied to the LibGuide metadata.
• If you use this method, you’ll need to update your metadata every term to ensure  the correct guide appears in Canvas.
• To use this method, copy the full course title as it appears in Canvas. For example, WR 123 (Winter 2021; 25487) College Composit III. This method will only work if you copy and paste the exact title from Canvas.
• To obtain the exact course title, open the course in Canvas and navigate to the course settings by selecting Settings in the left hand navigation. Next, copy the exact course title from the Name field under the Course Details tab.

Why would I choose one method over the other?

• If you don’t want a Guide pushed to ALL CDS Courses, but rather only a few, you would choose the Specific Course Name Tagging Method (CDS 601).
• The Specific Course Name Tagging Method (CDS 601) allows you to curate your Guides in a more precise Course-by-Course basis.
• Even more specific, the Full Course Name with CRN method allows you to add section-specific Course Guides when needed. These will not automatically roll over to a new term without updating the term name and year

Will I have to tag my Guides every term?

• Once you tag a Guide, the metadata tag stays in the Guide until you remove it so it is not necessary to retag a Guide every semester.
• If you tag a Guide for a specific course and it is not being taught that term it won’t make a difference. Unless the Course is actively being taught, it will not show up within Canvas.
• If you tag a Guide with the full course title and CRN, you will need to update this every term. If you don’t update it, but you added prefix or course number metadata, it will update to the Subject or Course Guide. If you didn’t add these and you forget to update it, it will revert to the Getting Started with Research Guide.

IMPORTANT: You can only add metadata to YOUR Guides. If you'd like to curate and use someone else's guides, you will need to provide them with your course name or prefixes.

How do I Tag My Guides?

Log into LibGuides and navigate to a Guide you would like to tag. Click on the Gear icon and Select "Guide Metadata."

Select the “Custom Metadata” tab and fill in the following information: Name and Value

• Name always = context_label (lowercase)
• Value = either CDS or CDS 601 (must be all-caps and a space between prefix and course number)
• Use “Add Record” to add another row and new metadata

Note: If you do not tag your Guides for a Course (using the General Course Prefix OR Course Specific Name), the following Guide will populate the page when the “Library Research Help” link is clicked in the left-hand navigation. This eliminates the issue of faculty or students encountering no content when they click the link