This message has been cross posted to the following Discussions: Pre-Award and Global Community .
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MY APOLOGIES TO THOSE RECEIVING MULTIPLE COPIES OF THIS. WE'RE WORKING ON THAT. SEE BELOW...
Hello Everyone,
It's been a month since we last communicated with you and we wanted to provide another update on our progress. Here are the improvements we've been working on for the NCURA and Collaborate websites:
COMPLETED - EASIER ACCESS
Login no longer needed after email: Email notices with links to NCURA/Collaborate now take NCURA members straight into the website rather than forcing you to login first. It also means fewer clicks!
COMING AFTER AM56
Session time-out to be extended: Several of you requested that the session time-out be extended. We are working with NCURA and Higher Logic (Collaborate) web developers to do just that.
How-to's/QRG's: We're finishing up the creation of several Quick Reference Guides (QRGs) to instruct NCURA members on how to do the following:
1. Getting started: setting up profile, joining community, configuring digest options, adding contacts
2. Discussion threads: how to post a message, how to respond
3. Library documents: How to post, how to review, how to share library documents/view documents
4. How to volunteer
5. How to search
6. How to set up your mobile app
7. How to upload a document
A new tab will be added to the Collaborate main menu options where these "How to" resources will be stored for future reference. The QRG's are 1-2 pages with screenshots and steps.
Are there other QRG's that will be helpful? Please let us know and we'll create them as well.
Member Profiles to include areas of expertise: Sometimes you have a question and need an expert in a specific area. We're working with the chairs of the various NCURA committees to compile a list of topics. Then we'll work with NCURA on adding them to the website for members to add areas of expertise to their profiles. This is a design change so will take longer to complete and unexpected costs may be involved. We appreciate your patience as we work through all the details.
All Members Community: Currently, when you create a message in Collaborate you can share it only with two committees. If you wish to inform others, you need to create additional messages which is not ideal and often results in duplicate email messages to members who are subscribed to multiple Communities. However, the solution we are working on is a community of "All NCURA Members" to inform or alert all NCURA members, reach all communities in one message, and address times when you're not sure which community will have the answer you seek. You will be able to send your question/comment to All Members for responses, and they receive only one email. It's a win-win!
As you can imagine, some of the requests you brought to our attention will take time to achieve due to their complexity, while others may have fees attached, and NCURA will need to determine if and how to budget for them. We appreciate your interest in improving Collaborate and look forward to your continued feedback.
With summer vacations and the upcoming NCURA Annual Meeting, we are taking a short break and will resume after AM56, so we hope to provide another update in September.
All the best,
The NCURA Collaborate Task Force:
Stephanie Moore; Julia Rodriguez; Jane Tolbert; Denise Moody; Terri Hall