Whenever possible, use a Link Asset to add a link to your LibGuide.

Why? Links added to Rich Text/HTML content are not checked by the LibGuides link checker, which makes it challenging to fix dead links before our users attempt to use them. While you can create links to Rich Text/HTML content, it is recommended that you do so sparingly and intentionally.

Whenever possible, reuse your Link Assets

Why?

• If you link to the same sites from several of your LibGuides, creating a new Link Asset for every page creates more work when you need to change or update information about that Link. If you reuse your Link Assets, you do not need to create a new description and grab a URL when you link to a site or resource you've linked to before.
• If you reuse an asset, you can more easily and reliably gather statistics and information on how often that asset is being used. 

How:

1. After selecting "Link" as the kind of content you want to add to your page, click on the "Reuse Existing Link" tab on the Add Link interface.
2. Begin typing the name of the link you want to reuse. This should create a list of links that include the letters you've typed.
3. If the link you want to reuse appears in the list, click on it to select it. Then click the blue Save button to add the link to your page. 
4. After you've added the link to your page, you can edit the link. This allows you to customize the way the link appears on your page and change the description if you want.

Use a Database Asset when adding links to databases to your LibGuide.

Why? All of the databases from the Databases A-Z list are in the LibGuides Database Assets list, with links that should work for on-campus and off-campus library users. This list is maintained so that it is easy to identify dead or problematic links. The Database Assets list also makes it possible, when there are changes to database URLs, for us to update the Database Asset so that every guide using that asset will have the updated URL. 

Use a Book Asset to add a book from the library catalog to your LibGuide.

In addition to being easier to maintain in LibGuides, the Book from the Catalog Asset can help you create visual interest and include useful information about the book. Using a Book from the Catalog Asset allows you to create a link to a book record that includes (or can include) the call number, a link to the catalog record, information about the book, and an image of the book's cover.

Whenever possible, reuse your Book Assets.

You can reuse Book Assets much like you do Link Assets. 

1. After selecting "Book from the Catalog" as the kind of content you want to add to your page, click on the "Reuse Existing Book" tab on the Add Book from the Catalog interface.
2. Begin typing the title or part of the title of the book you want to reuse. This should create a list of titles that include the letters you've typed.
3. If the book you want to reuse appears in the list, click on it to select it. Then click the blue Save button to add the link to your page. 
4. After you've added the book to your page, you can edit it. This allows you to customize the way the book appears on your page without changing the original Book Asset.