The University of Pittsburgh University Library System has implemented a way to organize and showcase library resources and services available to Pitt faculty and students for research and study.

LibGuides are a content management and information sharing system designed specifically for libraries. The platform allows for easy navigation through and instruction on core and relevant resources in a particular subject field, class, or assignment.

Furthermore, this platform effectively invites collaboration between librarians and instructors to meet the research needs of a particular department, class, or assignment.

• A well-designed LibGuide will point to suggested resources that support an assignment or course material.   
• Guides will pool resources to support your students research...and your own

The LibGuide platform allows us to:

• Organize core and relevant resources in your field into one 24 hour accessible webpage, simply give your students the url.
• Combine features of social networks, wikis, and blogs on a particular subject
• Make RSS and podcast feeds, social bookmarking, and other technologies easy to use.
• Anything we create is printable, so it can easily be used as handouts.
• We can update the information on the page BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER you teach a research or library-related lecture, so students can have access to updated material.
• We can integrate chat technology into your guides for constant communication with your students.
• Integrate the guide into your Canvas class seamlessly for you

• Teaches at the point-of-need to your students.

• Information is chunked and resources presented in a linear, intuitive fashion.

• Meets the needs of students with diverse learning styles.

• Convenient for students who can't (or won't) come to the library.

• Students can access from dorms, from home, and from anywhere in the world, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

• Beneficial for distance learners who don't need to learn the whole library.

• Great resource for study abroad courses and domestic study tours. Students can start their preliminary research from the LibGuide on campus and continue to access the same resources while traveling.

• Allows students to focus on the relevant and sift out the less relevant.

• Visually demonstrates that there are great resources, in multiple formats, on even the most difficult topic. That reassurance builds the confidence of students who need to get started on their research.

To request a LibGuide please contact your subject liaison librarian 

The University of Pittsburgh's ULS Librarians make general subject guides, guides for specific courses, and even for specific assignments. Whatever the need, we can work with you!

Effortlessly embed multimedia inside your guides (videos, RSS feeds, podcasts, etc.). LibGuides makes it easy to spice up your guides with multimedia to make them more useful and more attractive! Check out the example below!

We have the ability to control the style of your guide by adding tabs and by selecting different types of content boxes such as:

E-Reserves- If you have an e-reserves list for your class through the library, we can add the e-reserves list as a page.

Highlight book or ebook titles that students will use in the class.

Users can stay connected with new content in the system using both email alerts and/or RSS updates - available by content area, author, or tags/keywords. Check out the example below!

Here are a few examples of the ways instructors can reinforce information seeking skills within your classes through LibGuides or through examples embedded on Canvas.