Our database listings in LibGuides are kind of a mess.
When we migrated into LibGuides 2.0, I had to find one instance of each database in the existing Guides to migrate them into the new system. When I picked the link, the new system was populated with all the information from that link—meaning the URL as well as the description written by the liaison who owned the guide I found the link in. This meant that many of our descriptions were inaccurate and out of date, or tailored to a specific guide, rather than for general use.
Later this year we’ll be moving away from using our custom built Database A-Z list, and our database listings will all be within LibGuides. However, having innaccurate information won’t fly! We needed to get those descriptions fixed, so the ERMS team has been updating the default descriptions of each database, verifying formats and subjects and such. When ERMS updates a database in the list, it will automatically change on your libguide. This means that descriptions for your databases might change to match the canonical database description.
If you have a custom description, then nothing will have changed for you. If you don’t want to use the canonical description, you can click the little edit tab next to your database and write your own database description. (Soon, you’ll be able to edit more than just the description.) If you had a description you really liked in the old LibGuides, you can always look it up in the archived version of the site, at gvsu.v1.libguides.com.
Jeff’s team is working on updating the LibGuides list, but it’s a slow process. We’d like to minimize the time they are maintaining the LibGuides list and the existing list, but we also want to make this change at a time that is convenient for folks. Spring break would be the earliest, but it may have to wait until the end of Winter semester. Let me know if you have a preference. (The LibGuides Advisory Committee is meeting at the end of next week, and this is one of the topics we’ll take up.)
As always, if you have questions, let me know!