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Overview
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About LibConnect
What is LibCRM?
LibCRM is a Customer Relationship Management platform built for libraries. This tool offered through LibApps can help you gain a better understanding of our users and their needs. Many of the features of LibCRM with its powerful task management and flexible design can help outreach, development, and liaisons track relationships and demonstrate value.
What is the Purpose of LibCRM?
Focus on measuring engagement
Manage outreach in one place
Identify gaps in outreach efforts
Collect information for annual reporting events
It is important to note that this tool is not about measuring work done, but rather tracking data that we are obilgated to report, learning about the connections we have with Virginia Tech and the world at large, and doing so in a way that allows for anonymity.
For years data collection at the University Libraries centered around reporting numbers to ARL, ACRL, and IPEDS. Now, in light of the PIBB and the present-day need for data-informed decision making, there has been an increasing emphasis on data collection throughout the libraries.
As of fall of 2020 the Data Analytics Team collected data about the work that happens throughout the library. But the distribution of work (liaison duties, consultations, instruction) across department lines can create unintended inconsistencies. For example, consultations occur library wide. For this one area, data currently is reported using 10 separate data collection devices (e.g. forms, apps, etc) and resides in 4 systems (Teamdesk, Dreamfactory, Springshare, Google Forms). This is not good data collection practice. By having different principles, definitions, data structure, and mechanisms across the libraries, problems with data collection and reporting can and have occurred, including issues of timeliness, consistency and transparency. In addition, siloed data must be manually consolidated for reporting, making the process time-consuming.
A single data collection system would coordinate and consolidate the large number of reporting systems currently being used and increase the efficiency for gathering data of reports. This will allow the Data Analytics Team to focus on analysis of programs and services and creating dashboards to supplement annual reviews, departmental reports and the strategic plan, instead of gathering and combining data for reports. This would also remedy current data collection unevenness in the libraries; some areas collect very granular data and others do not emphasise data collection at all.
LibCRM will help to create consistency by using the same principles, definitions, data structure, and mechanism across the library. This will make it easier to implement new data collection points or amend ones that need to be changed. As we systemize gathering core library metrics (that are not currently gathered, or not gathered/reported systematically) and solidify metrics/milestones for the upcoming strategic plan, this will benefit creating instructional tutorials and other educational tools to ensure that 1) information is being recorded and 2) when a change is made to data collection it is made in one place and affects all areas.
Over time, and perhaps within the first year, the University Libraries will see a net cost savings, as departments that are paying for individual systems no longer have to foot that cost, and departments that have built data collection apps will no longer have to pay employee man hours to spend time and effort maintaining these individual systems.
Why LibCRM and not another tool?
This system, and several others were evaluated in 2019 by a Library Council Task Force. The taskforce recommendation is as as follows, along with the criteria:
The system that best suits our needs at this time is
.
LibCRM is a Customer Relationship Management system with project management and reporting. There is the ability to record individual interactions, and there is a lot of flexibility to accommodate recording the different and sometimes disparate aspects of work of the University Libraries.
Additionally, the task force is recommending this product with the understanding that the setup of the product would be somewhat unique to a CRM system to allow anonymity where appropriate. This could include de-emphasis on contact with specific individuals, however we do believe that the system is flexible enough to accommodate work-arounds and still be a valuable and viable tool for data collection, as well as be a tool for gathering enough information to build relationships with individuals and organizations where appropriate.
Some of the factors that go into our recommendation:
Security:
LibCRM is HTTPS, and encrypted in-transit and at-rest.
Data Storage:
Data is stored in the cloud using AWS.
Data Extraction and Reporting:
Extraction:
The system has an API for extraction and spreadsheets of data can be downloaded in the interface. The API extraction would need to be built out by working with Springshare staff. This is on the features list, but it is not on this year’s timeline.
Reporting:
The reporting system allows a user to create templates of different types of reports, including being able to dictate which data types should be included, which fields should be included, and naming and saving those templates so they can be run with two clicks in the future. Users have the ability to pull data using custom fields from the system created by the user, and they are working on a scheduling system so that a user can have the reports run automatically and the user just shows up to download them on certain days of the month. The system provides a list of all of the reports that have been created, who created them and when. Finally, the system generates a block of text that describes the report and adds it to the top of the spreadsheet. For example, "This report contains interactions of the type Instruction that include Faculty members of the College of Science organization." He said their goal is that every report is self explanatory if you come back to it months later.
Flexibility:
This is a new product, and doesn’t have a lot of features, however the core functionality and flexibility that is needed in a data collection system is there. With every update the product includes more features. Depending on how it is initially set up, there is the needed flexibility to allow for each area to collect additional data they need/want to make decisions while still standardizing the areas of data collection for combining and reporting to governing bodies.
Price:
This is one of the lowest cost options. The quote was for
$3,499.00
per year.
Expertise (Low Code):
This is a low code solution. We can customize the look of the page with coding, but no coding is required for the actual setup and use of the application. A system administrator would not have to know or utilize coding to update or maintain the system.
Integration(with current tools):
This software is a Springshare product. The Library currently uses a suite of Springshare products, including LibCal, LibGuides, LibAnswers, LibStaffer, and LibInsight. Currently, LibCal and LibAnswers can be automatically integrated into LibCRM, although Springshare is actively working to integrate their other products. Also worth mentioning is that data can be batch uploaded into the system, which would make initial setup very easy.
Ease of use:
This system has a fairly intuitive interface for end users and structure that mimics other systems currently being used in the library. It has good help documentation and a responsive support team. As noted above, there is the ability to customize the look of the page with coding.
Legal/University approval:
Springshare (the company that developed LibCRM) is approved. They have signed the full FERPA agreement, and the library has not had to go through the procurement process to add modules to the LibApps instance in the past. The task force is fairly confident that LibCRM is a module in the LibApps instance, and as such would not need extra approval.
Levels of access:
This software has both Admin and User access permissions. LibCRM is currently working on updating the permissions system, to enable the creation of groups in the system, assignment of those various groups different permissions on each data type in the system (create, view, edit, delete for either all owned by the user, all not owned by administrators, and all), and then finally, assignment of individual users to those groups. The update will allow a very deep nuance in permissions and the library should be able to have a lot of different levels of access to the system as needed. These permissions can also apply to things like running reports in the system as well. As of communication in May of 2020, roll out is anticipated by the end of June of 2020
Visualization tools:
LibCRM currently has some rudimentary visualization through the people and organization profiles but not through the reports. It will, however, have an API to build a connection to other visualization tools.
LibCRM will be able to ingest our data that has been collected in various systems across the library, based on a sample structure provided. They would need to do the work on the backend, and have indicated that they are happy to do so. They are also working on more ingest systems similar to what already exist for People and Organizations that would allow a user to do the ingest themselves. He said they would expect that to be released before the end of the year.
LibCRM has a sufficient
library for both initial configuration and for users, as well as a
to help with setup and live training opportunities. The cost of these are covered under the subscription cost.
The goal was to find a unified system that was at least as good or better than the current systems being used across the library (Data Collection Apps, Teamdesk, Google Forms, LibInsight Forms, Qualtrics forms). The composition of the task force included representatives who had built, structured, were currently using or had extended knowledge of the above systems, as well as representatives from IT.
Navigate LibConnect Homepage
Homepage Overview
Notification Settings
At a Glance
Current List of Assigned Tasks
Current List of Assigned Profiles
Current List of Assigned Projects
Homepage Overview
Images (click to enlarge)
About
When you log into LibCRM, you land on your personalized dashboard.
Instructions
In addition to the latest news and announcements from Springshare, you'll find the following: Notification Settings, At a Glance, Current List of Assigned Tasks, Current List of Assigned Profiles, Current List of Assigned Projects
Links to more information:
Quick Start
Interactions
Interactions Overview
Interactions allow you to record different methods of interacting with people and organizations. For each interaction you add, you will assign it a type.
Please note that the
(consultation, instruction, etc) is at the very
bottom of the form
. (
Yes this is awkward. No, at this time, there is no way to move it to the top.
)
The form is a long form, however you do not need to fill out every single field.
The entire interaction form is pictured below. Here is a
(or you can go directly to the
to see details). Detailed information about
and
are in the sections below, along with screenshots.
If image is not correct: scroll down to the bottom of the embedded picture and choose the Desktop Image Icon
Creating a New Interaction
You can create a new Interaction from many different places: the Interaction page, within a Person Profile, an Organization Profile, or a Project.
from the Home Page
within a Profile (Person and Organization)
within a Project
from the Home Page
Directions
Click on
Interactions
from the
At a Glance
menu or on the top ribbon.
Then choose the
New Interaction
button at the top right.
Enter in the information requested. See Filling out a New Interaction for more information.
Images (click to enlarge)
Filling Out an Interaction
Filling out an interaction is just a matter of filling out the form fields. You do not have to fill out every field for every interaction. Below is a short video that guides you through the process to enter an interaction.
Detailed information about
and
are in the sections below, along with screenshots.
Fields in the Interaction Form
(Record) Owner
Required
Profile
Required
Interaction Title
Required
Interaction Source
Required
Location
Required
Interaction Date
Required (Auto-fills)
Interaction Time
optional
Duration
Required
Details
optional
Related Project(s)
optional
Related Tasks(s)
optional
Internal to library
optional
DEI related
optional
Number of participants
Required
Detailed Location (Optional Details)
optional
Outcomes (Optional Details)
optional
Additional Notes (Optional Details)
optional
SCUA Areas of Research (SCUA)
optional
SCANS (SCUA)
optional
Photocopies (SCUA)
optional
Ditigal Photography (SCUA)
optional
Audio/Visual Reformatting (SCUA)
optional
Strategic Plan Area (Library Strategic Plan Initiatives)
optional
Strategic Plan Sub-Area (Library Strategic Plan Initiatives)
optional
Interaction Type
Required
Required
(Record) Owner
Directions
You are the record owner. If someone else at the library is involved in this interaction, add them from the record owner box.
Images
When to use
Every interaction
Field Type
Multiple Select (pool)
Selection Choices
All User Accounts (library personnel) in system
interaction record owner
Interaction Types
Reference
Consultation
Instruction Event
Non-Instruction Presentation
Exhibit
Event
Interview
Meeting
Other
Proctoring
Unknown
A reference interaction is a (usually) 1:1 interaction that typically takes place at a service desk, and involves external clients/patrons. Does not include items recorded in ILS (book checkout, etc).
Reference
Additional Questions
Reference Interaction Type:
Please choose whether the interaction was a
reference
interaction,
directional
(i.e. where are the bathrooms), or
assistance with printing
.
Images
Show hidden columns
Adding a New Type
There is a link marked “
Add New Type
” next to the selection button.
Please
ignore
this option for now, and
do not add new interaction types
. If you would like an additional interaction type, contact
or
to have a new interaction type added.
Profiles
There are two types of profiles, person profiles and organization profiles. A Person Profile is centered around individual people. An Organization Profile is centered around organizational units including units within Virginia Tech, within the Library, and extending out into the community.
All profiles can be connected to
Interactions
and
Projects
by adding them where Profile is requested.
Person Profiles can be connected to Organization Profiles by creating a Membership.
Person Profiles
A Person Profile is centered around individual people. Person Profiles can be connected to Organization Profiles by creating a Membership.
Searching in Person Profile records
Navigate to the person profile page by going to Profiles > People at the top of the page or click on People in the
@At a Glance
dashboard.
There are several methods that can be used to search for person profile records.
Keyword
Name
Type
Email
(Record) Owner
Number of Interactions
Last Interaction
Clear Search
Keyword
Description
Use this filter to show profiles containing that search term in the Name, Email, Type and/or (Record) Owner fields.
Note:
This search will
not
return information from open text fields like “Description” from person profiles or “Details” from Interactions.
Links
Show hidden columns
Anonymous or Unknown Person Profiles
The following person profiles are set up to preserve anonymity of our students, or to record interactions where the patron may be unknown.
List of Anonymous Profile Names
Library Patrons
2
Patron / Library User, Unknown
General library patron. This profile is mainly for user services and reference desks.
Library Front Desk, VetMed
This "person" is used to keep track of the reference/informational and directional interactions that take place at the Vet Med Library's front desk on a monthly basis.
Students
12
VT Student, General
General VT student profile for anonymous students
VT Student, Undergraduate
General undergraduate VT student profile for anonymous students.
VT Student, Freshman
General freshman undergraduate VT student profile for anonymous students.
VT Student, Sophomore
General sophomore undergraduate VT student profile for anonymous students.
VT Student, Junior
General junior undergraduate VT student profile for anonymous students.
VT Student, Senior
General senior undergraduate VT student profile for anonymous students.
VT Student, Graduate
General graduate VT student profile for anonymous students.
VT Student, Resident Intern
General resident intern VT student profile for anonymous students.
VT Student, Master's Degree Graduate
General Master-degree seeking VT student profile for anonymous students.
VT Student, PhD Degree Graduate
General PhD-degree seeking VT student profile for anonymous students.
VT Student, MD Degree Graduate
General MD-degree seeking VT student profile for anonymous students.
VT Student, Veterinary
General veterinary VT student profile for anonymous students.
Faculty
2
VT Faculty, General
General VT faculty profile for anonymous faculty members.
VTCSOM, Faculty
VTSCOM faculty profile for anonymous VTSCOM faculty members.
Community Partners
2
Community Partner, General
General non-VT community partner. This designation is used when you know the patron is a non-VT community member.
Prospective VT Student /Family,General
General prospective student or family member, currently non-VT for anonymous library patrons
Alumni
1
VT Alumnus, General
General graduate of VT.
Colleagues
1
Non VT Colleague, General
General profile for anonymous faculty, & staff (including libraries) outside of VT
How to use
When using anonymous profiles, always go from the most specific information to the least specific information. For example:
If you know that the person you are interacting with is a senior undergraduate, then choose
VT Student, Senior.
If you only know that this person is an undergraduate student, then choose
VT Student, Undergraduate
.
If you only know that the person is a student, then choose
VT Student, General
.
If you don’t know at all, you can choose
Patron / Library User, Unknown
.
If you are using an anonymous profile and you know the organization that person is attached to, attach the organization type as well. For example:
If recording an interaction with a student from the
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences,
add
VT Student, General
and
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS)
to the Profile section of the interaction.
Create a New Person Profile
Navigate to a new Person Record
To create/add a new person profile first go to
Profiles >People
at the top of the page or click on
People
in the
@At a Glance
Dashboard.
Do a search to see if the person is already in the system, and if not
Fill out the form to add a new profile by clicking on the “New Person” button at the top
Fill out A New Person Profile
The table below describes the fields used in a person profile.
Fields in the New Person Profile Form
Person Profile
@Type
Use the link provided above to see the different types of person profiles.
Creating Many Profiles at one time
If you would like to create multiple profiles at one time, the system has the ability to upload up to 10k profiles at a time. Contact
or
about how to do this.
Organization Profiles
Organization Profiles are centered around different organizations within the Library, the VT campus, and beyond. Organization Profiles are connected to person profiles through Memberships.
Searching in Organization Profile records
Navigate to the person profile page by going to Profiles > Organizations at the top of the page or click on Organizations in the
@At a Glance
Dashboard.
There are several methods that can be used to search for organizational profile records.
Keyword
Name
Type
Email
(Record) Owner
Number of Interactions
Last Interaction
Clear Search
Keyword
Description
Use this filter to show profiles containing that search term in the Name, Email, Type and/or (Record) Owner fields.
Note:
This search will
not
return information from open text fields like “Description” from person profiles or “Details” from Interactions.
Links
Show hidden columns
Create a New Organization Profile
Creation of organization profiles is restricted.
a new profile created
need the ability to create organization profiles
Organization Profile Types
Projects
About Projects
A project allows you to create, organize and collaborate on related interactions and tasks.
Within a project, you can also upload notes and attachments, allowing you to easily share important documents, meeting minutes, etc., with your team.
When creating a project, you can either start from scratch or apply preset settings saved to a project template
Searching in Project Records
Navigate to the Projects by clicking on Projects at top of the page or click on Projects in the
@At a Glance
dashboard.
There are several methods that can be used to search for project records.
Keyword
Use this filter to show projects containing that search term in the Title, Status and/or (Record) Owner fields.
Title
This search functions like a keyword search that only applies to the title field. Title in this instance means the title of the project.
(Record) Owner
write in a record owner or click on the arrow to choose a record owner from library personnel
Status
Search by project status, whether it is Active, Completed or Inactive.
Updated
Search by date last updated. To utilize this search, you can choose between two dates. A calendar will appear to facilitate this search.
Due date
Search by project due date. To utilize this search, you can choose between two dates. A calendar will appear to facilitate this search.
No. of Members
use this filter to show only projects having a certain number of project members
From the dropdown, select the operator you want to use: greater than (>), less than (<), or equal to (=).
In the number field, use the up/down arrows or type in the number of members to filter by.
For example: to show only records with more than 3 members, select the greater than (>) operator from the dropdown, then enter 3 in the number field.
Clear Search
Once you have entered information for a search, a Clear Search button will be available to reset your search. NOTE: Searches will carry across search pages (for example, narrowing a field on a person profile search will carry across as you change tabs and begin searching interactions), unless you use the Clear Search button.
Keyword
Description
Use this filter to show projects containing that search term in the Title, Status and/or (Record) Owner fields.
Links
You can also use this method to search for any project templates you have created, but clicking on the Template Projects tab.
Creating a Project
Navigate to a new Project Record
To create/add a new project first go to Projects at the top of the page or click on
Projects
in the
At a Glance Dashboard.
Do a search to see if a project is already in the system, and if not
Fill out the form to add a new project by clicking on the “New Project” button at the top of the page.
Fill out a New Project Record
From Template Project
: If you would like to create this project from an existing template, use the dropdown menu choose what template you would like to use. Template project allow you to apply preset options and details.
Project Title
: Give your project a descriptive title.
NOTE:
Although there is currently no naming convention, it would be best if we could come up with some kind easy to remember project naming convention, especially if this is a feature that will be heavily utilized. Please send suggestions to
elliek@vt.edu
or
libcrm-admin-g@vt.edu
. This section will be updated as naming conventions are adopted.
Is this a Template? Checkbox:
Leave blank if you want to create a new project. Select only if you want to create a reusable project template rather than an actual project.
Brief Description
: add a short overview or mission for the project
Start Date
: Specify a start date for the project.
Due Date
: Specify an end date or due date for the project.
Status
: By default the status of a new project will be
Active
. However, you can change the status to
Inactive
, or
Completed
.
From Template Project
: If you would like to create this project from an existing template, use the dropdown menu choose what template you would like to use. Template project allow you to apply preset options and details.
Project Title
: Give your project a descriptive title.
NOTE:
Although there is currently no naming convention, it would be best if we could come up with some kind easy to remember project naming convention, especially if this is a feature that will be heavily utilized. Please send suggestions to
elliek@vt.edu
or
libcrm-admin-g@vt.edu
. This section will be updated as naming conventions are adopted.
Is this a Template? Checkbox:
Leave blank if you want to create a new project. Select only if you want to create a reusable project template rather than an actual project.
Brief Description
: add a short overview or mission for the project
Start Date
: Specify a start date for the project.
Due Date
: Specify an end date or due date for the project.
Status
: By default the status of a new project will be
Active
. However, you can change the status to
Inactive
, or
Completed
.
Project Members
: Select library personnel who are collaborating on this project
Associated Records:
Choose
Person
or
Organization Profiles
associated with this project.
Details
: you can use the Details field to add a more detailed overview of the project, links, or other information.
(Record) Owner:
By default, you will be the project record owner, however change that and/or assign additional library personnel as project record owners.
Parent Project
: If this project itself is part of a larger project, you can designate it’s parent project from the projects listed. This can help to keep related projects more organized
Save:
click the save button
Project Templates
Project templates allow you to quickly create new projects using preset settings. This is useful if you frequently create the same types of projects over and over: instead of having to re-enter the same owner, details, associated records, etc. for each one, you can simply load the template when creating your project. Then, all you need to do is fine tune your new project's settings.
If your template project contains tasks, these will also be copied to any new project created from that template. For example, if you have a few start-up related tasks you like to complete for each project, you could add these to your template so you don't have to recreate them with each new project.
Creating Project Templates
From the
Projects
page, click on the
New Project
button at the top of the page.
Project Title:
In the
New Project
window, give your project a name in the
Project Title
field.
Is this a Template?
Checkbox
: check this box
Note
: this will hide the
start date
and
end date
fields. These can only be set when creating a new project, whether it's from scratch or from a template.
Brief Description:
add a short overview or mission for the project
Status
: By default the status of a new project will be
Active
. However, you can change the default status of the template to
Inactive
, or
Completed
.
Project Members
: Select library personnel who are collaborating on projects created from this template.
Associated Records:
Choose
Person
or
Organization Profiles
associated with projects created from this template.
Details
: you can use the Details field to add a more detailed overview of these projects, links, or other information.
(Record) Owner:
By default, you will be the project record owner, however change that and/or assign additional library personnel as project record owners.
Parent Project
: If projects made from this template is part of a larger project, you can designate the parent project from the projects listed. This can help to keep related projects more organized
Click the
Save
button.
Using a Template to Create a New Project
To create a new project from one of your templates:
Go to
New > New Project
.
Alternatively, click on
Projects
in the navigation bar, then click on the
New Project
button at the top of that page.
From Template Project:
In the
New Project
window, use the
From Template Project
dropdown to select the template you want to use.
Save:
Make any needed customizations to your new project's settings, then click the
Save
button.
Managing Template Projects
To manage your templates, click on
Projects
in the navigation bar.
Template Projects
: Click on the
Template Projects
tab on the Projects page.
A. To view or edit a template's settings, click on the pencil icon in the
Action
column.
B. To delete a template, click on the blue trash icon in the
Action
column.
Tasks
Tasks
allow you to keep track of your progress towards certain goals or outcomes. Tasks can be part of a larger project, or simply a reminder to follow up with a person by a certain date.
NOTE
: Tasks should be created for individual use, and are not tracked by the library. Tasks is an add-on productivity/organizational feature provided in the LibConnect module. Please utilize this feature (or not) as it works with your work flow.
Each task can be assigned to one or more users and has its own status, so you can track its completion.
Adding a New Task
Navigate to a New Task Record
From the
Tasks
page, click on the
New Task
button.
Alternatively, find the project, person, or organization profile where you want to add a task click the
New Task
button in the
Current list of Tasks
box
Fill out a New Task
In the
New Task
dialog, use the
Subject
field to briefly describe the objective of your task.
From the
Assoc. Profiles
field, select any person or organization profiles this task will involve.
From the
Projects
tab, select any projects this task is a part of.
Enter a
Start Date
(optional) and
Due Date
(optional) for the task.
By default, your new task will have a
status
of Pending. However, you can change this to Completed if needed.
By default, you will be the
owner
of the new task. However, you can choose a different owner if needed.
In the
Details
field, add any additional info about this task that may be helpful.
Use the
Assignees
field to select the user(s) who will be responsible for completing this task.
If you have any files you'd like to attach, click the
Choose Files
button to upload them to the
Attachments
field.
Click the
Save
button. This task will be added to the Tasks page and will also show up in the Tasks box of the each project, person, or organization that was selected.
Create a New Task from a Project or Profile
If you are viewing a project or person/organization profile, you can add a new task directly to it. Just click on the
New Task
button in the
Current List of Tasks
box. When you do this, the project or profile you're viewing will automatically be associated with the new task.
View and Manage Tasks
From the Dashboard
Below the At a Glance box on the dashboard is the
Current list of Assigned Tasks
box, where you can view and manage all of your assigned tasks.
A. Click on the task's name to view it's info, associated projects, and notes.
B. Click on the
Edit
(pencil) icon to edit the task's general information, status, start and end dates, reassign ownership of the task, etc.
C. Click on the
Delete
(trashcan) icon to permanently delete the task.
Caution:
deleting a task will result in the task no longer appearing on your profile or any associated project. All data related to the task will be permanently lost.
Search and Update Tasks
Click on
Tasks
in the navigation bar to view all tasks in your system.
Enter text in the
Keyword
filter to show only tasks containing that search term in the Subject, Task Owner, and/or Related Projects fields.
Enter text in the
Subject
filter to show only tasks containing that search term in the Subject field..
Use the
Owner
filter to show only tasks owned by any of the selected Record Owners.
Use the
Rel. Projects
filter to show only tasks related to any of the selected projects.
Use the
# Assignees
filter to show only profiles having a certain number of assigned users.
From the dropdown, select the operator you want to use: greater than (>), less than (<), or equal to (=).
In the number field, use the up/down arrows or type in the number of assignees to filter by.
For example, to show only records with more than 5 assignees, select the greater than (>) operator from the dropdown, then enter 5 in the number field.
Use the
Status
filter to show only tasks with the selected statuses.
Use the
Due Date
filter to show only profiles that are due within the selected date range.
If you have applied one or more filters, click on the
Clear Search
button to reset them.
Use the page controls to change how may projects display at once and to navigate between pages.
Click on a column heading to sort by that column in ascending order. Click it a second time to sort in descending order.
Click on the refresh icon to refresh the list of tasks.
Click on the task's subject to view it's info, associated projects, and notes.
To edit a task's general information, click on its
pencil
icon.
To permanently delete a task, click on its
trashcan
icon.
Memberships and Relationships
When you create a new person profile record, one of the most important fields to fill out is the membership field.
Memberships
show how
Person Profiles
relate to
Organizations
, as well as how
Organizations
relate to each other. This is important for reporting purposes.
(Relationships
show how Person Profiles relate to each other.)
Adding a Membership
When adding in a new person profile record, it is important to add in how they relate to an organization or organization.
When choosing an organization you want to be as specific as possible.
Example:
If you know that a faculty member works in the College of Science in the Department of Chemistry, choose
only
the Department of Chemistry.
If you only know that professor is in the College of Science, choose College of Science.
.
Clicking on the
+New Membership
button will send you to the membership screen.
Once you hit
Save
in the membership screen, you will be back in the new person record.
Membership Type:
Choose the membership type
@Memberships
from the drop down menu. If that person works for or in an
Organization
, choose “is a part of,” otherwise choose “works closely with”
Choose the membership type from the dropdown menu
.
Membership with
: This is a keyword field that will bring up choices of different organizations. Choose as many that apply, however, keep in mind that you want to choose as specific a record as possible, and since the organization records are linked, you will not need to manually link a single person to every organization they may be related to.
Editing/Deleting a Membership
Note- you can only edit or delete memberships on profile records you own.
Edit a Membership
Open the
Person
record and go to
Current list of Membership
s
Scroll or use the search function to find the membership you wish to edit
Under
Actions
, use the blue pencil icon to edit the membership
Delete a Membership
Please be careful!!
Open up the
Person
record and go to
Current list of Memberships
Scroll or use the search function to find the membership you wish to delete
Under
Actions
, use the
blue trashcan
with an x on it to delete the membership
If you delete a membership in error, re-add the membership or contact
or
immediately and ask them to restore the membership
Adding a Relationship
You have the option to show how a person record relates to another person record within LibConnect.
When you are adding a new Person record, you have the opportunity to add a new relationship. Clicking on the
+New Relationship
button will send you to the membership screen.
Once you hit
Save
in the membership screen, you will be back in the new person record.
Relationship Type
: Choose the relationship type from the drop down menu. The relationship types are:
works with
works for
supervises
has collaborated with
Relationship with
: This is a keyword field that will bring up choices of different person records. Choose all that apply.
There are four kinds of relationship types:
Editing/Deleting a Relationship
Note- you can only edit or delete relationships on profile records you own.
Edit a Relationship
Open the
Person
record and go to
Current list of Relationships
Scroll or use the search function to find the relationship you wish to edit
Under
Actions
, use the blue pencil icon to edit the relationship
Delete a Membership
Please be careful!!
Open up the
Person
record and go to
Current list of Relationships
Scroll or use the search function to find the relationship you wish to delete
Under
Actions
, use the
blue trashcan
with an x on it to delete the relationship
If you delete a relationship in error, re-add therelationship or contact
or
immediately and ask them to restore the relationship
Reporting
LibConnect has a robust reporting system. You can filter profiles or interactions using any combination of their system fields or type-specific fields. Unless you have specific permissions set up, you will only be able to see reports that you create.
If you create a report that you need to run regularly, you can save it as a report template. A report template saves the filter settings you have in place, allowing you to easily apply them to future reports.
When viewing a report, you can customize which table columns to show or hide, giving you a customized view. You can then export that customized report to an Excel (.xls) file if needed.
Create a New Report
Click on
Interactions
in the navigation bar.
On the
Interactions
page, click on the
New Report
button.
In the
Configuration
dialog box, click the
Start New / From Template
dropdown and:
Select
Start blank
if you want to create a report without any preset filters.
Select
Start from a template
if you want to create a report using a saved template. Your new report will be preset with that template's filters, but you can further customize it as needed.
If you are starting from a template, select the one you want to use from the
Template
dropdown.
Click the
Confirm
button.
Customize and Generate Your Report
After you create a report, you can select filters to apply to your report.
Primary Report Filters
If you create a report about Interactions, then at the top of the report page, you'll find the Interactions Filters. You can use these to filter by interaction fields like Source, (Record) Owner, Type, etc. This is in addition to any custom fields you've added to your Interaction Types.
Initially, you'll be presented with a few common fields to filter by.
Depending upon a field's type, you can select an option from the filter's dropdown menu and/or enter a value.
For example, the (Record) Owner field is a dropdown list of all interaction owners you can select from, while the Title filter allows you to search for terms in an interaction's title.
To add or remove filters, click on the
Add/Delete Filters
option.
This will display the
Add/Delete Filters dialog box
, where you can select and deselect the fields you want to filter by.
To include custom fields added to your Interaction Types, select the
Custom Fields checkbox
.
When finished, click the
OK
button.
If you selected the Custom Fields checkbox above, the
Custom Fields category
will display on the report page.
From the
Type
dropdown, select an interaction type, then select the custom field to filter by from the
Field Name
dropdown.
This will display the
Value
field, where you can provide the criteria for your filter.
To add more custom fields to the list, click the
Add Custom Field
option.
When more than one filter is selected, the
Must Match All Custom Fields
toggle will appear. This can be enabled to require interactions to match all custom field filters, or disabled to require interactions to match at least one of them.
To remove a custom filter, click on its delete_forever icon.
To clear all applied filters, click on the
Clear Search
option.
Additional Filters
Where the primary filters allow you to filter based on data about an interaction, the additional filters allow you to limit the report based on the data you’ve associated with it.
To add a filter, click on
Add/Delete Filters
option in the
Additional Filters
panel. This will display the
Add/Delete Filters dialog box
.
Select the checkbox next to each filter you would like to include in the report. To remove an enabled filter, deselect its checkbox.
When finished, click the
OK
button.
The fields you selected will appear in the
Additional Filters
panel.
Depending upon a field's type, you can select an option from the filter's dropdown menu and/or enter a value.
For example, the Project Title filter is a text field, whereas the Project Owner field is a dropdown allowing you to select one or more project owners from a list.
Generate Your Report
After you've selected your filters, click the
Generate Report
button.
NOTE:
If you change the filter options
after
generating a report, you will need to click the
Generate Report
button again to update the results.
View and Export Your Report
Once the report has finished loading, a data table containing the matching records will appear at the bottom of the page.
In the first column, you'll find the
Title
of the interaction. Click on any link in this column to view the corresponding interaction.
The subsequent columns include details about each record. Click on any column heading to sort the table by that column's data.
You can show or hide fields from the data table by clicking on
Options
and selecting
Set Report Data Fields
. In the dialog box that appears, use the checkbox next to each field to show (check) or hide (uncheck) it.
The last column is the
Actions
column, where you'll find a shortcut to editing the interaction. If you have the necessary permission for that interaction and it's an editable type, click on its edit icon (the icon will be grayed out if you don't have permission or if it cannot be edited, such as an interaction imported from a connected LibCal system).
Use the pagination controls below the table to change the number of items displayed per page and navigate between pages.
To export a report, click on the
Export XLS
option above the data table (you can also click on the
Export XLS
button at the top of the page). You will be prompted to give the exported file a name, then it will download in Excel (.xls) format.
The file will include the entire set of matching interactions (not just those visible on screen).
However, please note that it will contain only those columns currently visible in the data table.
Exported files are archived so you can re-download them again in the future.
Save a Report as a Template
If you'd like to create a report using the same filter settings in the future, click the
Save as Template
button. When prompted, give your template a name and click the
Confirm
button. Once saved, you can apply your template the next time you create a report.
Resources
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