Conference and Events Hosting Platform
Mississippi State University Libraries provides a new Conferences and Events platform for faculty, staff and student organizations as a part of their implementation of the Digital Commons institutional repository. The University Libraries has implemented Digital Commons and will use the new platform to host its Institutional Repository, thesis and dissertations, digital collections and now events and conferences. The new platform has been branded as Scholars Junction.
The Digital Commons platform can be used to host events, conferences, symposia, workshops and lecture series. Some of the features include:
- Flexible organization for different formats and time frames–from one day to yearly
- Support for a wide variety of content types (e.g., posters, presentations, minutes, breaks)
- Native video/audio streaming and ability to embed live streams using third-party platforms
- Custom design options
- Configurations to add logos or images tailored to specific themes and programs
- Manage everything from calls for papers to archived proceedings (provides mechanism for a peer-review type process)
- Leading search engine optimization and impact analytics for conference materials
Conferences and events are completely customizable allowing event organizers to add:
- Speaker Bios
- Presentations
- Audio/Video Recordings (link to live sessions hosted on Webex or recordings uploaded to Digital Commons or links to presentation on Youtube or other media services
- Links to other conference information including specifics about travel, lodging, etc.
- Link to 3rd party registration system (the system does not include a registration system but staff can make recommendations).
Streamlined, customizable workflows for every event
No two conferences are the same, and the way you handle them shouldn’t have to be. Digital Commons lets conference organizers manage the full process however it works best, whether it’s double-blind peer review or simply posting the schedule for a one-day workshop.
Visible, organized proceedings that leverage your event’s success
Don’t let your hard work go to waste by planning a conference that disappears at the end of the event. Optimized indexing and discovery in search engines like Google Scholar mean everything from musical performances to poster sessions are not only stored but highly visible. For presenters who aren’t ready to make their findings public, flexible access control means only what you want to get found does.
Track impact through powerful readership analytics
Know more than how many people showed up and submitted papers. Digital Commons can provide a full view of your conference’s impact by using the robust on-demand metrics to show who’s accessing and downloading which proceedings. Detailed, exportable readership reports include the institutions and businesses reading your event information around the world — which can help make the case for running the event again next year.
How to setup your next event
The setup process for a new event involves completing the Event Community Setup Form and submitting it to the Library Systems department. Once the form has been reviewed, it will be sent to Digital Commons staff to create the site for you. Depending on the complexity of the setup, this could take 2 weeks to setup. The setup will include a review process for you to provide feedback on the site. Once the site is setup, representatives from Digital Commons and the MSU Library will setup an online training session.
If you are interested in a tour of the system and to explore the options, you can request a meeting by email systems-help@msstate.libanswers.com .
To setup your conference or event:
- Review the Event Design Tour tutorial video
- Download and complete the Event Community Setup Form
- Upload your completed Event Community Setup Form at https://msstate.libwizard.com/f/sj-collection
