Mapping a box: This adds a box to your guide that is linked to the original box that you would like to reuse. As the original box is updated, the changes will be reflected automatically in the mapped version so it's always got the latest and greatest content. The trade-off, though, is that you are not able to edit any content in the mapped version of the box.
Copying a box: This will create a standalone copy of the original box you would like to reuse. Because it's not linked to the original box, you have the ability to edit the copied box as much as you need. The trade-off, though, is that any changes to the original box will not be reflected in the copies made of that box.
See the Guides: Add, reuse, or edit boxes on a page page by Springshare.
Always map databases from the A-Z Databases list. See the Guides & Assets: Add a database from your A-Z List to a guide page by Springshare.
As the databases are centrally managed in our A-Z Databases List, any changes to the databases (such as its URL) will automatically be reflected in every guide where the database is being used. Include the database description below the database title/link.
Mapping to a box should be done when the exact content is going to be used across multiple guides. Mapping allows updates to be made just to the original box and then cascade to all the mapped boxes. See the Guides: Add, reuse, or edit boxes on a page by Springshare.
Copying a box is useful when most of the content of a box is appropriate, but some changes need to be made to match guide content.
Example:
Map NOVA Libraries video tutorials from the Video Tutorials guide. This allows video creators to update videos in one place and have the changes cascade to any guide where the box/video has been mapped.
NOVA Libraries videos on Vimeo can be embedded directly using the embed code from Vimeo.
Mapping an entire page from another guide should be done thoughtfully and with caution as the content of the page is subject to the discretion of the original page owner and could change or be deleted without warning.
Do not map entire pages from the Subject Guide Template.
If possible, do not redirect a page in your guide to another guide as doing so takes students out of the original guide abruptly and without warning. This can be disorienting and may cause students to get lost. It is better to put a link to the guide that you would like the the student to view on a page in the original guide. If you must redirect a page to another guide, make sure that the new guide opens in a new tab so that the original guide is still open and available. See the Guides: Redirect a guide or page to a different URL page by Springshare.
When adding resources to your libguides, check and see if the resource is already in our system under the "reuse existing (link, widget, document, etc.)" tab. It's best to link to existing assets instead of creating multiple copies of the same asset in the system. Using the mapped asset makes it significantly easier to ensure that all of our content is up to date.
When using mapped assets, you can still create a customized description that will only be displayed on your version of the resource.