Finding available space for a meeting or event at Duke is getting easier.
The Provost's Office has begun a phased project to enable Duke students, faculty and staff to view and request event space in one online scheduling system called 25LIVE. Currently, Duke schedulers often have to search through multiple websites or make multiple calls.
The 25LIVE website - available at https://25live.collegenet.com/duke -now allows members of the Duke community to search for and request classrooms in the Trinity College of Arts & Sciences, group study rooms in the Link in Perkins Library, and spaces in the John Hope Franklin Center, School of Medicine and Sanford School of Public Policy.
Work is under way to add spaces in the Fuqua School of Business and Smith Warehouse to the 25LIVE site in December. Other facilities will be added over the next 12 to 18 months.
The initial implementation of 25LIVE serves as a pilot for providing a single website to view and request available space, while also allowing the "owners" of those spaces the ability to accept or decline reservation requests according to their established policies and processes, said Deb Johnson, assistant vice provost and director of administrative & community support services.
Students, faculty and staff can request space for meetings, club activities and other events using their NetID and password. The University Registrar's Office will continue to handle scheduling of formal classes.
A separate version of the system will be available for the external community at https://25live.collegenet.com/dukesched.
Previously, the spaces scheduled by these units were available on three separate websites with separate online forms to submit a request.
"People looking for space for their meeting or event aren't always familiar with what's available. Even if they know of a space, it's not clear what they need to do to request it," Johnson said.
The new system simplifies searching, allows users to customize their searches and streamlines the scheduling process for planners, Johnson said.
Users now can search for a location by its name or alias; "star" favorite events and locations; and check the status of any submitted event online.
Erin Nettifee, who handles scheduling for the Link's 11 group study rooms, said the new system will cut down on confusion and save time for schedulers who process space requests.
"Our group study rooms are in high demand. We average several hundred requests per month," said Nettifee, coordinator of academic support for Duke's Office of Information Technology. "With 25LIVE, you can see room availability and request space easily. It's a one-stop shop."
If you have questions about 25LIVE, contact Johnson or MaYet Brock in the Office of Administrative & Community Support Services via e-mail at calendaring@duke.edu.