StaffGuide: LibApps Guide

Guidance and tips for creating and maintaining your content

Using LibCal for Meetings, Events, and Classes

1. Login to your LibApps account and navigate to the LibCal home page
2. Choose Events on the orange menu bar and then Mullins Library Calendar.  
3. Choose Add New Event.

LibCal add event

  1.  
4. Event Date/Time Enter date, start and end time.
  • Be careful about am and pm times.
  • If needed, give yourself 15 minutes or less of “padding” time before or after the event.
  • Be polite to others and don’t over pad. Creating a repeating event? Please specify end date no more than a year away.
5. Title & Event Info
  • Give the Event a title and description.
  • For classes it is helpful to use the class abbreviation and number, example, HIST 1234.  
  • More Info used to link to external information or add program notes.  
  • If desired, link the event to a custom LibGuide.
  • If desired, create a friendly URL to make your event easier to share.
6. Event Location  
 
  • Pick Online Event via Microsoft Teams if you wish to use Teams as your online platform. (Note: there is a one-time setup for Teams integration)  
    • Teams events will require registration. See the instructions for setting up registration.  
  • For Zoom, Eventbrite or other platforms, you can pick
    • Online Event via Facebook Live (or other) if you don’t mind exposing the URL or  
    • Onsite Event and location Virtual if you want to only share the event URL once users have registered for the event.
  • LibCal events are linked to LibCal Spaces so that you can reserve a space at the same time as your event is created.  
  • Choose Onsite, select a location from the dropdown menu and click Check Availability.
  • It is very important that you check the availability of each date for repeating events

7. Event Details  
  • Note that you can have both presenter and organizer. If both are the same, leave presenter blank. It’s a good idea to put contact information for an external presenter in the internal notes field
  • We are not using Audiences or anticipated attendance at this time
  • Choose the Category of your event. The category determines which events are displayed from the home page (library meetings, for instance, do not display)
  • Please do not select alternate colors
  • We are not using Geolocation at this time. After renovation for sure!
  • Attach any associated documents as needed.
8. Registration

Under Event Registration, click the checkbox for “Registration is Required” and then some options appear:

  • Set maximum seats.
  • Enable LibAuth authentication for OpenAthens if you wish to allow registration from UARK students, faculty, and staff only. This will auto-populate name and email if the user has already logged in to email, Blackboard, etc.  
  • Set a custom time for registration to open and close or leave at defaults.  
  • Don’t recommend multiple attendees.
  • Enable a waiting list if desired. Those on the waiting list are automatically enrolled if someone else cancels.
  • Set the bcc for yourself if you want to receive a notice every time someone has registered.  
  • Set the email reminder time period.  
  • Set a follow up email if desired (follow up email provides your contact info for questions). 
9. Publish your Event - or Save as Draft
  • For internal meetings, candidate presentations, and other non-public events, please select Save as Draft
  • For public event,s Publish your event to allow it to appear on the public library calendar.  
  • You’ll get an email confirmation from alerts@mail.libcal.com
You can manage / edit / update future events by:

Choosing an event from the public calendar and choosing Login to LibApps Or logging in to your LibCal Account and choosing Calendars > Mullins Library Calendar  > choose an event to modify. (Only LibCal admins can delete past events)   

To Modify event details, click the Modify Event button. Note that you also have the options to copy or delete the event there. 

If you are using the registration function, click Manage Event to view or email attendees, add an attendee manually, or to view event statistics and add a note after an event.

 

Event Explorer

Log in to your libcal account and choose Calendars > Mullins Library Calendar  > Event Explorer to search for events by a number of criteria. Limit to yourself as organizer to see a spreadsheet of your own events: 

Event Display

From the Library Calendar, users can click on the event to see details and a registration button:

OR you can share the event URL with others, example: https://uark.libcal.com/event/4694252. You can get the event URL by going to Modify event in LibCal admin.

The default registration form is very minimal. You can add more questions to the email template you are using for the event, if needed.

If you have enabled LibAuth authentication, the form will automatically be filled in for name and email

 

LibCal and Teams

1. Login to your LibCal account
2. Click on your account icon in the upper right orange bar.
3. Choose the Integrations tab

4. Click the button to Authorize with Microsoft Account

5. You will pass through the familiar campus sign in page and may be asked to grant LibCal permissions. If the authorization is successful, you will be returned and see a green success alert.

Scheduling Events with Teams

Choose the option for Online event via Microsoft Teams and make yourself the organizer.

The Teams meeting link will be sent to registrants in the confirmation email. You can also arrange reminder URLs which will also contain the meeting URL.

Note that the confirmation email also includes an *.ics file as an attachment to allow the attendees to easily add the event to their own Outlook or Google calendar.  


NOTE: meeting changes (modifying your event after you have created it) will result in a NEW Teams link. Make sure to send an update to your participants if you modify your event. Go to Manage > Email Attendees to send the new meeting link to all registrants.

1. Make sure that you have linked your LibCal account with Teams.   
2. All appointments in the default Appointments location (“University of Arkansas Libraries”)  are currently booked online with Teams.  
>>A librarian can change that setting in


3. When a user makes an appointment with you, a Teams link will automatically be generated and displayed on the confirmation screen as well as in the confirmation email and reminder.

4. Email you receive

5. Email student receives

Email Confirmations

Email Confirmations

The emails registrants receive are pretty minimal by default. The email templates are set at the Mullins Library Calendar level: let us know if you have suggestions for making them better!  

If the event is an online event in Teams, the registrant will receive a Teams link. If the event is on another online platform with a password, the registrant will receive that information.  
Note that the confirmation email includes an *.ics file to add the event to one calendar. 

Patrons will also receive reminder and follow-up emails, if you have added those.

 

Questions / Suggestions?

 

libweb@uark.edu

Subjects: Library Science