Author Checklist
The following is quick checklist to help authors ensure their guides follow established editorial guidelines and best practices.
Scope
- Content is within the scope of LibGuides and is either a subject guide, course guide, how to guide, or staff guide
Settings
- The guide has a clear, concise title and follows the appropriate naming conventions for subject and course guides
- The guide contains a brief description of purpose
- The guide has been associated with the appropriate subject(s)
- The guide has been assigned a friendly URL
- The author's name and contact information (i.e., your profile) appears on the first page of the guide
- The publication status has been set to published
- The guide is password protected if intended for staff viewing only
Content
- Content has been proofread for typos and grammatical errors
- Content has been edited for optimum readability (clear page/box titles, plain language, short sentences/paragraphs, bulleted/numbered lists, etc.)
- Any content pasted from other sources has been stripped of formatting to avoid style inconsistencies or potential editing problems
- All images have been assigned alt tags in compliance with accessibility guidelines
Layout
- Content is organized hierarchically into a logical sequence of pages, subpages, and boxes
- Content is broken into “chunks” that are easy to read and comprehend
- Important information is placed prominently near the top of the page or box
- The guide is not cluttered by multiple rows of tabs (one row of tabs is ideal)
- Tab titles have been kept as short as possible (preferably three words or less)
- Column-width has been adjusted to maximize use of available space
Style
- Color, font, and box style have not been modified and conform to the pre-defined template
- Font size, style, and formatting is consistent throughout the guide
- Bold, italic, and underline are used emphasize text where appropriate (avoid using capitalization for emphasis)
- Page and box titles are in title case (i.e., "Finding Books" not "FINDING BOOKS")
Links
- Links have been created using link boxes (rather than rich text boxes)
- Links to library resources (catalog records, databases, ebooks, etc.) have been created according to editorial guidelines
- Links are created using relevant keywords rather than non-descriptive text (i.e., "click here")
Maintenance
- Reminders about maintenance tasks such as content updates, link checking, and review of usage statistics have been programmed into your calendar