LibCal: MyScheduler Updates Now Live

Exciting news for LibCal users – we’re introducing a slew of updates to make MyScheduler the easiest and most flexible way to book an appointment with a librarian. Our new MyScheduler Appointment Categories will make it easy for patrons to book exactly the amount of time they need, and we’re also bringing you several great updates for MyScheduler Groups and emails. Here we go!

MyScheduler Appointment Categories

We’re thrilled to introduce the all new Appointment Categories in MyScheduler. With Appointment Categories, you can support different length appointments for different appointment “types”. Ex. you might create categories for “Research Review (30 minutes)”, “Citation Assistance (30 minutes)”, and “In-depth Research Question (60 minutes)”. Patrons can then select the type of help they need, and MyScheduler will create an appointment for the amount of time you’ve set for that category. We’re thrilled to add this layer of flexibility for appointment types, as patrons will now be able to select exactly the amount of time they need to get the help they require.

Good to know: This is an opt-in update. Switching to the new Appointment Categories will change how your staff manage their MyScheduler availability – they’ll still define the times that they’re available, but they’ll no longer define their appointment durations or padding between appointments (those will be defined by the Appointment Categories). To take the new Appointment Categories for a spin, Admins can head to Admin > MyScheduler Settings > Appointment Categories and Durations.

MyScheduler Groups Update

By popular request, we’ve added customizable text areas to the top of the MyScheduler Groups page, to make it easier to display your library’s terms and conditions for booking meetings with librarians. Admins can head to Admin > MyScheduler Settings > Page Description to add a custom terms and conditions statement, which will appear at the top of the Groups page as well as in the Groups widgets.

We’ve also added a customizable text area for each MyScheduler Group, so if different groups have different policies, you can create custom text for each group. To customize this area, Admins can head to Admin > MyScheduler Settings > Manage Groups > Edit Group > Description/Info Text.

MyScheduler Email Updates

• We’ve added a new email template for the Confirmation email that’s sent to librarians when someone creates a new appointment, so this email is now customizable! Head to MyScheduler > Appointment Scheduler Settings > Confirmation Email to Admin template to give it a spin.
• Even better, we’re including a “Cancel this appointment” link in the email sent to librarians, so if you need to cancel the appointment, you’ll have a link available right in your inbox.
• We’re also updating the email tokens used in various MyScheduler emails by separating “Location” from “Date and Time”, which makes the emails sent to patrons a bit more flexible.