Communication Center Journal - 4:1, 2018 - LibGuides Partnership

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by kopisore

The article describes how Nova Southeastern University’s Writing and Communication Center (WCC) partnered with the Alvin Sherman Library to deliver writing and communication resources through the LibGuides platform. It explains the partnership’s origins in the university’s Quality Enhancement Plan, details how responsibilities are shared between centers and librarians, and outlines how assessment is conducted using analytics and survey feedback. The discussion highlights how the SharkWrites LibGuide was expanded to serve students and faculty across disciplines and locations.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages7

Reading Time18 min

AccessFree to download

Using LibGuides to Deliver Communication-based Resources

How and Why the Partnership Was Formed

Web Presence

How the Partnership Works

College-Specific Pages

Communication Center Journal 68 Volume 4:1, 2018 Using LibGuides to Deliver Communication-based Resources: A Behind the Scenes Partnership between a Writing and Communication Center and a University Library Kevin Dvorak Nova Southeastern University In January 2018, Nova Southeastern University opened the NSU Writing and Communication Center (WCC), an innovative academic work environment that offers writing and communication assistance to all 20,000-plus NSU students. A key component ofthe WCC is its online writing and communication resources. These resources are made available to all NSU students and faculty through a collaboration between the WCC and the university’s main library, the Alvin Sherman Library, Research, and Information Technology Center. While the WCC is ultimately responsible for developing and publishing its own web content, the library provides its LibGuides platform as a host for the WCC’sresources—and Alvin Sherman librarians help maintain, assess, and contribute to these resources. This article examines the LibGuide-based collaborative relationship between the center and the library, discussing how and why it formed, how it operates, and how it conducts assessment. How and Why The WCC – Alvin Sherman Library LibGuide Partnership Was Formed The NSU Writing and Communication Center is the product of a university-wide initiative known as a Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) that stems from the university’s reaffirmation of accreditation from its regional accrediting body, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) . During the proposal and review processes with SACSCOC, WCC leadership examined spaces on NSU’s main campus in Fort Lauderdale, where the new center could be housed. The Sherman Library seemed ideal, not only because it could provide the center with a prime, central physical location, but also because it would provide ample opportunities for WCC staff to collaborate with Alvin Sherman librarians on a variety of projects. The WCC would also form a partnership with the university’s second largest library, the Martin and Gail Press Health Professions Division Library, and have a satellite location there. The collaborative relationship with Alvin Sherman Library, though, would offer an opportunity to work on codeveloping the WCC’s web presence. Web Presence With over 20,000 students, Nova Southeastern University is one of the largest private, not-for-profit universities in the south, with a main campus in Fort Lauderdale (around 10,000 students), eight regional campuses (seven in Florida and one in Puerto Rico, and significant online programming. The university has 18 colleges and schools, eight of which are related to health professions. Almost 80% percent of students are enrolled in graduate or professional programs. Most NSU undergraduate students are enrolled at the Fort Lauderdale campus. With such varied populations of students, the WCC needs to maintain a strong web presence that provides Communication Center Journal 69 Volume 4:1, 2018 appropriate resources to students across the disciplines and in different locations. While developing the QEP proposal for the center, WCC leadership recognized that a group of NSU’s education faculty had already been working with Alvin Sherman librarians to maintain an online LibGuide that provided education students with writing resources. LibGuides are “content management systems deployed at thousand of libraries worldwide” that “curate knowledge and share information, organize class and subject specific resources, and […] create and manage websites”(Springshare, n.d.) . All four of NSU’s libraries have LibGuides that support student learning, and the Alvin Sherman librarians have an extensive collection of materials on their platform, much of which is related to communication. The LibGuide education faculty had developed with Alvin Sherman librarians was called SharkWrites (named after NSU’s masco

FAQs

What was the main goal of the WCC’s partnership with Alvin Sherman Library?

To use the LibGuides platform to expand writing and communication resources so all NSU students and faculty could access them, not just a specific college or level.

How did the partnership originate?

It grew from NSU’s Quality Enhancement Plan, during which WCC leadership explored campus options and identified the Sherman Library as an ideal site for collaboration and web presence development.

What roles do the WCC and librarians play in operating the LibGuides resources?

The library provides the LibGuides platform and staff support for development and maintenance, while the WCC collaborates with librarians to generate content and to assess the site using analytics and survey results.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by kopisore