More than Manuscripts: Redesigning a Scholarly Communication Guide to Include Multiple Research Outputs

Background: The purpose of this project was to revise and streamline information on a Scholarly Communication LibGuide, which had initially focused on article publication. Redesigning the LibGuide provided an opportunity to include additional research outputs to help inform and promote open science to researchers at an academic health sciences institution.

Description: Improvements to the LibGuide include a "Where Should I Publish?" section that prompts users to select a research output: articles, datasets, preprints, protocols, and software. Content was also condensed and reorganized to provide better context and highlight why certain publishing topics are beneficial to researchers. For example, a page on ORCID was moved to the section for "Promoting Your Work".

Librarians across departments participated in the redesign process. Environmental scans of LibGuides and library websites were conducted to inform decisions on new content and navigation. While the LibGuide improves upon the original, plans for further adjustments are underway. The usability of the guide is still being considered, specifically the organization of topics and web accessibility. We will continue to evaluate and update the guide to reflect researcher interests, developments in scholarly communication, and future library services.

Conclusion: Outcomes that we expect to measure include an increased awareness among researchers of other research outputs related to article publication, in addition to an increased awareness of library scholarly communication services. This will be measured by tracking the number of questions and librarian consultation requests, as well as click-through rates on the LibGuide and its specific pages.