Important Updates About ASIS&T Website Access
Greetings Colleagues,
I am writing this column from the skies above the US east coast en route to deliver my second of three boys to his freshman year at the University of Miami. This reminds me that many of you who study, work, and teach in North American institutions are likely ramping up for your own fall semesters with all of the excitement and hard work that goes into that. I am sending my best wishes that your new academic year is full of success.
We here at ASIS&T Central have been hard at work on a number of key initiatives that launch in the next several weeks as well. Of course, the 2019 Annual Meeting in Melbourne, Australia occupies much of our time and attention. To those of you who plan to attend, we look forward to welcoming you Down Under I about 9 weeks. To those of you unable to make the journey, we hope to be able to bring you some of the presentations either via FaceBook Live or recorded video. We are aware that the internet in Australia is occasionally unreliable, but we are hopeful that we can find some means to make a portion of the outstanding content we have developed available to those that won’t be with us in person.
Please keep an eye on the Annual Meeting Website for the latest news about the meeting. There you will find information on speakers, sessions, and other activities. It is not too late to sign up to exhibit at the meeting or participate in the student/alumni reception. Even if you can’t make it to the meeting, you can have a presence through an unmanned exhibit table or sponsorship. Don’t miss your chance to reach a new and excited audience of ASIS&T members who will be in attendance. Visit the Marketing Section of the Annual Meeting Website for more information on these opportunities.
There are two other critical initiatives in which the ASIS&T Central staff is currently engaged of which I would like to make you aware. The first is the rollout of a new association management system (database). This new system will greatly improve our ability to track our membership, communicate with you, and facilitate your engagement with us. You will be able to quickly access your membership information, renew your membership, join or change SIGs, and track your purchases and billing. Need an invoice? No problem, you will be able to go online and download one. Want to find another ASIS&T member with similar interests? You bet, you can do that through our enhanced directory.
The new database system will require that all members create a new account in the system using your email address as your username and selecting a new password. Of course, you may use the same password you have used in the past, but the username and password from the old system will not transfer over. Once you’ve created the new account, you will have access to your Member Hub where you can track all aspects of your membership. We will be emailing you in about 3 weeks asking that you create the new account. Once we’ve launched, you’ll use these new credentials to access all of your member-only benefits, including iConnect and the new-and-improved Digital Library, both of which will be integrated with the new system and should not require additional login after your first visit.
Along with the new database, we will be launching a new website. In developing the new site, we have engaged more than sixty members in the initial structure and accessibility assessment. Soon we will be ready to beta test the new system and would be happy to have your help in this if you’re interested in participating in the beta test. Just email me and I’ll be sure to include you. The new site will include all the content on our current site, much of the content from the old asis.org site that was never moved over to asist.org, and will also include unique sites for each chapter and SIG. Including the chapters and SIGs on the main ASIS&T website will greatly facilitate accessibility to these important resources and grow engagement in those groups. We are always open to suggestions on website content and structure, and this new site allows us much greater flexibility to make changes to both the architecture and design. So please feel free to reach out with ideas and suggestions. We recognize that you, not we, are the experts in this area and highly value your input.
We are aiming to launch the new website and database on the 15th of September if not a bit sooner. Please watch your email for the announcement of the new login procedures so that you don’t miss a minute of access to your member benefits. We ask for your patience during the initial launch as there will undoubtedly be a hiccup or two along the way. But we are confident that the new platform will substantially improve your online engagement with ASIS&T and are eager to bring it to you.
Thanks to those of you who responded to the Membership Survey. The Membership Committee has submitted a report to the Board on your feedback and the Board will be reviewing this at its upcoming meeting. Once the Board has had an opportunity to review the feedback, we will be reporting to you on what we heard and what the Board has in mind to address the opportunities or concerns you have raised.
As always, our virtual door is always open and we love hearing from our members, so keep in touch and let us know what we can do to improve and enhance your membership experience.
I hope to see many of you in Melbourne and before that a the ALISE meeting. Meanwhile, my best wishes for a fruitful end to your summer or winter.
Warm regards,
Lydia