Style

To keep guides consistent, always:

• Use the System Default - Side-Nav Layout.
• Choose a guide type: Subject (for Major-related guides), Course, Topic, General Interest (our website pages), or Internal.
• Assign at least one subject and create friendly URLs (for each guide and for each page within the guide).
• Add a one-sentence guide description.
• Follow the library's LibGuides template. Each guide should include the Need Help? page.

Promote Your Guide

• When you make a new guide, send a link to the course instructor or department liaison to see whether they have any suggestions/additions.

These guidelines are derived from the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 and the Accessibility Toolkit - 2nd Edition. 

Layout

• Organize your pages so that the most important boxes are at the top. 
• Break up long lists of items into logical groups, which makes it easier for screen readers to scan the items.

Headings

• Consider using headings for a box with more than one subject. The screen reader will read each heading, and a user can skip to the sections they are looking for. This prevents a user from waiting while a screen reader delivers all the text on a page. It also allows us to organize our content.
• For an example of this, view the HTML of this box.
• In the rich text editor, selecting Format will give you a drop down of headings. Heading 3 is customized across all of our LibGuides and is a good one to use.
• LibGuides uses Heading 1 for the page title and Heading 2 for the box title, so we use Headings 3-6 within our boxes. 
• Note: if you choose to break multiple subjects into multiple boxes, you can rely on the built in Heading 2 of each box to make your guide accessible by screen readers.

Text

• Use the default font size and style for all guides (Arial, 14 point, black). Set to default rather than setting manually. 
• Use bold text and all caps sparingly.
• Avoid underlining text.
• Don't use color as a way to convey importance. 
• Copying & pasting content from outside sources can sometimes be problematic. Style code may be copied along with the text, creating inaccessible content.
  • Use the "paste as plain text" button () in the rich text editor to strip out text formatting.
  • You can also use the "remove format" button () in the rich text editor to remove all formatting from selected text. This will generally solve strange formatting issues from copied text and remove hard-coded widths from tables that may overflow your guide. 

Images

• All images with meaningful content should include alternate text (ALT tags). If the image links to a resource, also make sure the image ALT tag describes the destination.
  • LibGuides rich text editor makes it easy to add ALT tags under image properties. See example:
    
• All colors should have a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1. Use WebAIM or another contrast checker to test contrasts.

Links

• Make sure link and database assets display their descriptions below the link. If you hide the description behind a hover-over button it may not be accessible.
• Rather than "click here" or "read more," linked text should make sense within the context of the sentence.

Web Links

Create links that open in a new page:
     

• When making a hyperlink in your text, select only the text you mean to link, not any spaces or punctuation before or after. Example:
              
• Before adding a new link, check to see if it already exists in our list of assets. Reuse the existing asset rather than creating a new one.

Materials from the Catalog

Remember when linking to a book from the catalog:

• Include the call number.
• Delete the ISBN after you have used it to retrieve the book's information.
• For e-books: add the permalink to the book.
• For print books: link to the relevant OneSearch record.

Design Thinking

• When possible, provide multiple means of engaging with the material (e.g., video and text). 
• When relevant, link readers to related guides that show the how of the research process, rather than just connecting them to resources.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

• When selecting books, websites, and other materials for subject and course guides, povide a variety of perspectives and counter-narratives to dominant voices. 
• In videos, images, and searches, provide culturally diverse and relevant examples.

Write as if your reader is only skimming the guide. 

• Use clear headings and short lists as much as possible.
• Write short paragraphs; aim for less than 6 sentences.
• Lead your paragraph with the most important information.
• Avoid jargon and complicated vocabulary in favor of simple, direct language. If you have to use an acronym, spell it out the first time and include the shortened version in parentheses ("diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)").

Write in a conversational voice, as if you were explaining something to a student in person. 

• Use active voice whenever possible. 
• Address your reader directly ("you"), rather than obliquely ("library users," "students"). Likewise, refer to the library as "we" or "us," rather than "the library."

Punctuation, Capitalization, & Spacing

• Use Oxford commas.
• Single-space after periods. 
• Use "ebook," rather than "e-book," "E-book," or "eBook."
• Use title case for all headers and titles. 

Inclusive Language

• Refer to Hood's Inclusive Language Guide (updated July 2022) for best practices on writing inclusively.