Comments on: On-line directory desiderata

By: Peter Hamlin

Peter Hamlin — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 13:59:39 +0000

More thoughts on the connection between Outlook and the directory.

I am now more and more using Outlook contacts. There is a very handy “Company Directory” feature that is accessible both on my office computer (or at home) and on my cell phone. I notice that some information from the college directory (i.e. home phone numbers and home addresses) is not included in the Outlook Company directory.

I think it would be great if the Outlook “Company Directory” could also include info from the college’s directory.

By: Liza Lloyd

Liza Lloyd — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 21:18:22 +0000

Things I’ll miss about a printed directory:
*front section that helps narrow down a search when I don’t know exactly who to call
*having a copy in my car
*finding people’s home info
*power/network outage concerns

Things I’d like to see in a new online directory
*a “who-to-call-when-you-don’t-know-who-to-call” function
*related people function
*higher number of listings with photos

By: Ian’s Web Services » Blog Archive » Directory Updates for September

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 19:56:43 +0000

[...] first meeting to review the feedback posted to the Web Makeover Blog for the online Directory occurred this afternoon. We agreed to a set of updates that will be made [...]

By: Elin Waagen

Elin Waagen — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 02:03:45 +0000

My wish list for the online directory
Search by first name
Up to date contact info
List primary dept. contact info for each dept (name of coordinator, dept head, phone, fax, email, etc) at top when searching by department
Print Option – ability to customize and print a page of frequently used and emergency contact info
Redirects and “did you mean…?” function
Photos viewable campus community
Easy access on mobile
Directory access for staff without computers
A-Z index – person and dept
Option to limit/expand search – people info displays across page – less scrolling when browsing for info
Thanks!

By: Ian McBride

Ian McBride — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 18:49:51 +0000

@Peter: To answer directly, the online directory and Outlook use the same database for information, so there is complete synchronization between them. You may see more information in the Outlook interface because there’s no setting for hiding your information from Outlook as there is for the online directory. Outlook, naturally, requires you to authenticate to see that information, whereas this is optional for the online directory.

By: Ryan Kellett

Ryan Kellett — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 18:25:05 +0000

@Peter: Without promising anything, one of the features we’re looking at in the website redesign is better accessibility on mobile platforms (your cellphone or smartphone) so that you can more easily look up people but also other important info when you’re away from your computer.

By: Peter Hamlin

Peter Hamlin — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 15:58:09 +0000

Is there any synchronization between the Outlook “company directory” and our in-house staff directory? I suspect over time more of us will be using cellphones for more of these kinds of things. When I’m not at my desk computer, I often use my cell phone if I need a phone number or e-mail address because it is synchronized to the campus Outlook server and has that information.

A print directory can help you find information when you’re not sure exactly what to look up. I.e. scanning student names that begin with M until your memory is jogged.

I hope a new online directory can incorporate the range of search needs indicated in so many people’s comments, yet without becoming unwieldy or difficult to use. The key is that you can get to it as quickly as you can reach next to your desk to grab the print version.

By: marcia collaer

marcia collaer — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 22:29:54 +0000

This may be echoing the comments of others, but a major limitation of the online directory is that it does not currently allow one to look up the telephone number for a specific office (e.g., Office of Off Campus Study). If you don’t know the name of an appropriate person who works in that office, your efforts to get a phone number are stymied. I would hope this would be resolved if we eliminate the printed directory.

By: Pij

Pij — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 12:32:03 +0000

I use the online directory almost exclusively. The feature I have most wanted is a “new search” link at the bottom of the result listing so I could easily try again.

I notice that the the search results have already been modified so that results are now visible in the window. Way to go, web team!

By: Alison Darrow

Alison Darrow — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 13:24:30 +0000

I use the online directory almost exclusively. I find it much faster and easier to use than the print version (which I often find frustrating because as a relative newcomer, I don’t yet have a comprehensive campus “map” in my head of who does what & sits where). Even when a search pulls up a huge screenful of information, I can locate what I need using my browser’s Search function. The main shortcoming I encounter is one that others have mentioned: job titles are not that useful in determining what someone actually *does,* so for example if someone tells me to contact “the head of student financial assistance,” a function not reflected verbatim in a title, I have to guess. But the printed version doesn’t give me that information, either. For general numbers, I just search the overall Middlebury site; the first or second hit usually has the phone number in it someplace. As for the off-campus, no-electricity scenarios, is there a way to download directory information directly onto an iPod? That’s one device I don’t mind carrying!