In LibGuides v2, assets are pieces of content or "content objects" that are reusable across multiple guides. Specific types of assets include the following:
In LibGuides v1 (before we called these things assets), all of these content objects lived only in the box in which they were created. One of the most important changes in LibGuides v2 is that these assets are now in your Asset Manager and are stored separately from individual guides. You can create assets before you place them in your guides, or as you go.
Assets can be reused in other guides either by linking to it (mapping) or duplicating it (copying). Reusing assets are an important part of the new LibGuides platform, allowing us to do the following:
This page gives you an introduction to commonly used assets, but for more detailed information or more information on asset types not specifically covered here (RSS feeds, polls, etc), check out the Adding Content to Guides page from Springshare.
The Asset management screen can be found under the Content menu in the LibGuides Universal Command Bar.
It can also be located as a shortcut from the LibGuides Dashboard.
From the Assets Management screen it is possible to see a list of all the assets that have been created in the libraries. The asset name, description, creator, created date and how many guides have it mapped are displayed as a list.
An asset can be edited or deleted from the Asset Management screen. Be careful when deleting as asset from this screen as it will also remove mapped versions of it too! Here is a screenshot of the Asset Manager screen:
There are several things you can do on this screen:
A powerful feature of LibGuides is the easy reuse of any asset. Assets can be easily reused by mapping or copying from an original asset. An original asset is an asset that was created from scratch.
Mapped Assets
A mapped asset, or a "reused" asset, is directly linked to an original asset. If the original asset is changed in any way then all mapped versions to that asset will be updated immediately. A mapped asset can only be edited by the original creator (or by an administrator).
Copied Assets
A copied asset works a bit differently than a mapped asset. A copied asset is a duplication of an original asset that retains all the same information, yet becomes an entirely new asset with a new owner. A copied asset will not update when the original asset gets updated.
Deleting an asset from a guide
When you delete an asset from within a guide you will only remove that specific instance of the asset. If the asset to be deleted is a mapped or copied asset then the original asset will not be removed.
Deleting an asset from the Asset Management page
When you delete an asset from the Asset Management page you will also remove ALL mapped versions along with it. Be careful when you make this choice as will be permanently gone! Copied assets will not be removed if the original asset is deleted.
Here is an example of a Link asset in LibGuides:
LibGuides makes it easy to put links into your boxes.Click on the Add/Reorder menu that you see in your box. This opens up a menu of different types of content to add to your box. If you want to create or reuse a link, select Link.
Once you have selected the Link Asset, you will be taken to a screen where you can choose to create a new link or reuse an existing link:
When you create a new link, you enter the link name, and URL. You can also add a brief description and/or more information about the link. Every time you create a link in LibGuides v2, that link will be added to your Assets so that you can reuse it. You can also associate links with particular subjects if you so desire.
To reuse a link, click on the Reuse Existing Link tab. This will allow you to search for the link you want to use and add it to your box.
Here is an example of what a Database asset looks like when used in a LibGuide:
In addition to links, you can add Database assets to your boxes. A Database Asset is a link to a particular database. These are stored in the shares LibGuides Assets so that you can use database assets created by others, adding your own descriptions if you prefer. You will find that there are several database assets already in LibGuides for you to use. We will keep adding them so that we have a more complete and consistent list of databases with consistently working URLs for you to use.
To add a Database to your box, click on the Add/Reorder drop-down menu. Select Database from the list of content options. This will bring you to a page where you can search for a database that already exists in the WSU LibGuides library of Assets. Type the first few letters of a word in the database title, and see if your database appears:
If your database appears on the list, simply click on it. You can then add a custom description or more information if you desire. To save the database to your guide, just click Save.
If you want to add a database to the Database A-Z list, contact Chris Benson.
Here is an example of an embeddable media widget taken from YouTube.
The widget code is usually only a few lines of code that links back to the source. Video files can't be directly embedded into a guide.
To add a widget or piece of media, click on the Add/Reorder menu in your box. Select Media/Widget. This takes you to the page where you can enter the code, name your piece of media or your widget, and select where in the box you want it to appear.
Here is an example of how a Book from the Catalog looks in a LibGuide:
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by
"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains." So begins Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, an expanded edition of the beloved Jane Austen novel featuring all-new scenes of bone-crunching zombie mayhem. As our story opens, a mysterious plague has fallen upon the quiet English village of Meryton--and the dead are returning to life! Feisty heroine Elizabeth Bennet is determined to wipe out the zombie menace, but she's soon distracted by the arrival of the haughty and arrogant Mr. Darcy. What ensues is a delightful comedy of manners with plenty of civilized sparring between the two young lovers--and even more violent sparring on the blood-soaked battlefield. Can Elizabeth vanquish the spawn of Satan? And overcome the social prejudices of the class-conscious landed gentry? Complete with romance, heartbreak, swordfights, cannibalism, and thousands of rotting corpses, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies transforms a masterpiece of world literature into something you'd actually want to read.
To add a Book from the Catalog, go to box where you'd like the book to appear and click open the Add/Reorder menu. Select Book from the Catalog from the menu options.This opens the screen where you can enter information about the book:
Key Information you need for your Book from the Catalog:
You can also add or edit the book's description and use the Description Display options to change how the description appears in your guide.
Remember to click on the Save button when you've finished filling in and editing the information for the book!