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The New Online Directory: Making It Happen19 Jan 07
As many of you may know, Columbia University made a decision to stop
printing the annual Faculty and Staff Directory. The rationale was that
(a) it takes 10 million paper pages to print this Directory each year,
(b) updating, printing, and distributing the Directory is highly labor
intensive, (c) information is out-of-date upon printing and is not
updated for another year, and (d) much of the information within its
covers is available online. To help facilitate everyone's transition
from the paper directory to the online one, CUIT began the work of
consolidating the various printed directory sections into one
easy-to-navigate web site, located at directory.columbia.edu. The goal
was to improve the online directory already in existence and add new
features as well. From the beginning of the project, the CUIT project team's major priority was to enhance the already existing online search facility so that people would find it much easier and faster to use than the printed faculty and staff directory pages. As a first step, we upgraded LDAP, the system that stores people's contact information. Then we designed and built the search application to be more inclusive (you can search for students, casual staff, temporary staff, and consultants, as well as faculty and staff) and more flexible (you can search by first name, last name, email address, UNI or department). You will need to log in for full search results, which can be helpful if you are looking for someone with a common name. Use the advanced search feature to narrow your search by title or department. To mirror and improve on the ways people search for names in print, we added a "Browse by Name" function. This section helps you locate someone whose name you are not quite sure how to spell. We also offer a "Browse by Department" section, which allows you to view and print a phone list for your department as well as others. Another important consideration was to ensure that the new search application could accommodate multiple, simultaneous requests. People use the directory often and expect to see results quickly, even if many others are using the directory at the same time. Another useful searching improvement is the ability to view more than one role for someone. Staff members with multiple appointments have all of their information listed, as do students who are also employees of Columbia. The online directory web site provides links to most of the information that appeared in the printed directory sections. For instance, you will find the organizational hierarchies for Columbia University and its affiliates. Links to other useful sites can be found by clicking on "Help and useful links." You will also find detailed information on how you can change, withhold or release your personal contact information and on how to obtain a printed copy of the entire faculty and staff listings, should you require one. And of course, you can print any web page of results from any of your searches. We hope you will enjoy using the new online directory -- where fast, accurate, and up-to-date information is right at your fingertips. Carol Kassel Senior Application Systems Developer Enterprise Systems |
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