Before you begin building and scheduling your resource inventory, you should determine the categories and groups into which your inventory will be organized. Categories and groups are used to help navigate and filter the resource list for various purposes.

 

The resource category is a high-level bucket into which similar resource items may be placed. Each resource may belong to only a single category. Categories might include things like “A/V”, “Furniture”, “Computers”, or “Sporting Goods”. The resource categories can be used to limit access when setting up user security, and is also used when searching for resources for scheduling, maintenance and management.

 

Groups, however, are like keyword tags. A resource may belong to many groups to help define the various kinds of resources being utilized on your campus. Like categories, the group tag can be used for user security and searching. Additionally, the resource group tag is the attribute to which you can assign users that must approve resource requests. One or more groups can be applied to resources to convey both the type of resource they are as well as their location or usage on campus. Access to and approval for these resources can then be controlled using the group attribute.

 

Group examples might include “DVD Players”, “Tables”, “Laptops”, “Tennis Rackets”, or even “Jones Auditorium”.

It will be helpful to give some thought to the organization of your resources and create the category and group options you wish to use before you begin entering your resource inventory.