Office of the Director: Getting Started

Stay sane, start early! Always get your date and venue reserved ASAP!

When determining date and time:

1. Find overlapping availability for all Must-Attend people.
2. Check Must-Attend availability against availability of all Appropriate Venues.
3. Bonus: To promote optimal turn-out, consult Libraries Staff Events Calendar to avoid major conflicts.
   To add your event to the calendar, invite mitlibrariesstaffevents@gmail.com to a meeting invitation. If the event is specific to a group, lead with the directorate or department acronym. For events open to all staff, start with ALL. Ex. "ALL: Brown Bag Lunch with the Director."
   
   To add a view-only version of the Libraries Staff Events Calendar to Outlook, take the following steps:
   a. In the Calendar ribbon click Open Calendar and then From Internet
   b. Copy this URL into the dialog box: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/ical/mitlibrariesstaffevents%40gmail.com/private-da01350b272a2d5c9585f902ebd31a3c/basic.ics
   c. Click OK and then Yes
   d. At the bottom of your calendars list, you'll see MIT Libraries Staff Events in your Other Calendars section

The Basics

• Schedule as far in advance as possible.
• Explain that you are from the Libraries. Be deferential.
• Double-check the room's set-up and capacity.
• Find out whether you will need a key and where you must pick it up.
• Cancel any reservations you make that you won't be needing after all.
• Let diroff-lib know if the department has a policy forbidding outside departments to use the room or if you encounter other difficulties.

Before the event, always...

• Be there early to meet the caterer and verify your order. Pick up the key or check to see whether the room is open.

After the event, always...

• Clean up debris and put furniture back into place, turn off lights and lock up room.
• Remember, the only items which MIT Catering will remove are coffee urns. If you must leave before urns are picked up, make sure it is okay with the department.
• Follow any additional usage rules the department has for breakdown.
• Remember that your group represents the Libraries whenever and wherever it meets. How well you comply with usage rules can have an impact on whether we will be allowed to reserve these rooms in the future!