As announced yesterday (and clearly visible from visiting the site) KLASUsers.com has undergone a pretty big redesign and refresh. We've added new features and functionality, but also reassessed how we organize content to make it easier to find and use. Some of the most important things to know about the redesign are:

1. The new Knowledge Base & KLAS News menu items
2. Logged-in users can now comment on articles
3. Using article tags to find what you need
4. The site's enhanced search functionality
5. The log-in function is now available from every page, and won't redirect you from whatever you are currently viewing
6. A Support button on all pages gives you a quick shortcut to contact Keystone Customer Support anytime you need help

Today I want to talk about the first four on the list... 

Knowledge Base & KLAS News

All still-relevant articles from the old klasusers.com are still available, but the old menu items have been collected under the new overarching categories of Knowledge Base and KLAS News.  This simplifies the Main Menu, and should keep you from needing to guess whether the info you need is in a document or a recording.

The main page for each of the new menu items will display the most recent articles in that general category, and a link to the related subcategories can be found at the bottom of the page.

Under Knowledge Base, you will find two subcategories:

1. Recordings, including general and customer specific training and webinars
2. Documents, including MARC Record Updates, Release Lists, and quick reference

KLAS News' subcategories include:

1. Key Notes Blog posts
2. Events
3. KLAS Users' Group info

The five most recently added or updated articles in each category are also listed in the site's footer, so you can easily jump to the new content from any page. We hope this reorganization will help you get to the content you want quicker and easier, without needing to remember where things are filed away.

Article Commenting

We're excited to see how this new feature adds to our site! Logged in users now have the ability to comment on any article on KLASUsers.com.

If you aren't logged in, you can still view any posted comments, but to add a comment you will need to log in, either from the comments section or the link at the top of the page. All comments can be viewed from the article page itself, or in the forum, so it's easy to find the latest discussion! New comments are visible right away with no approval necessary, although our site administrators can moderate comments if needed.

We hope you will find this a great new way to ask for more information or provide feedback--we'd truly love to hear when you find an article interesting or useful, or if there's something you'd like to add to the discussion. We challenge you to make this the first article you comment on!

Article Tags

You will now see subject Tags listed on all article previews and at the top of all full articles. These words or phrases are ways of categorizing articles and such with similar content. For, example you can select the "duplication on demand" tag to see a list of all articles with that tag applied.

We have actually been tagging articles all along, but the new site puts them "front and center" so you can easily spot them or quickly click through to a category you want to browse more of. We've also reviewed the tags we used previously to streamline them and make sure we're using the feature in the most useful way. If you find examples of misapplied or missing tags, please let us know. Also, don't be afraid to speak up if you feel we need to add a new tag!

Enhanced Search Capabilities

This might be the thing I am most excited about (unless it's article comments... we're really excited about the comments). I love when I can easily create and execute a search to find just what I'm looking without any muss or fuss. The search bar allows you to seamlessly search for anything from anywhere with a simple keyword search.

You can also choose to employ additional Search Options such as looking for all (or any) instances of the word or the exact phrase as typed to narrow down the results to exactly what you want to see. You can also choose how you want your results displayed. Options include: Newest or oldest first, most popular, alphabetical, etc. If you only want to look in a certain area of the site, there's also options to limit your search that way. Finally, you can also control how many results you see on each page using the "Display #" drop-down.

We know y'all are busy, so the faster and easier it is to find what you need, the better. We hope the new site search will allow you to jump right to the info you need.

Final Notes

We've put a lot of thought and effort into the refresh, but with increasing "technical difficulties" from the old site, we went live before we had the chance to test the site as well as we would have liked. If you encounter any problems with the new site or spot something we missed! In particular, if something is not accessible, please let us know! The reorganization and the big changes to the look and feel of the site may take a little getting used to, but we hope you'll all agree that this is a big step forward for KLASUsers.com.

Are you excited for the 2023 KLAS Users' Conference? We sure are!

While we're grateful that we get to hang out with some of you in-person, we also want our online attendees to have a great conference experience. To help get you oriented, here's a short video tour of the Zoom Events platform:

While we hope this platform will be easy-to-use for everyone, please do let us know if you have any questions or issues. Ready to try it out? Log in any time to start building your personal agenda, filling in your profile, and making connections!

Why do you attend the annual KLAS Users' Conference? Here is what some our of conference attendees had to say:

• "I attend because it's my one opportunity to share face-to-face my issues and triumphs with others in a way that email and online just can't." - Craig, NC
• "I attend the KLAS Users' Conference to network with other Talking Books Libraries, which provides me with new ideas to serve the visually impaired." - Sarah, FL
• "Through collaboration with colleagues and Keystone staff, I learn new, better, and more efficient ways to utilize KLAS that I can bring back to my co-workers." - Teresa, CO
• "Learn about new features in KLAS. Network with other users and discover functions you have not tried before." - Edith, CA
• "I go to talk to the other attendees and see what's going on at their libraries." - Erin, OK
• "I like to attend the conference because I like to hear about the different ways other libraries handle their workflow. Always come back with some good ideas to shake things up." - Sharon, IL
• "As the only staff librarian in Oregon, I often feel like I work in isolation. The work LBPH libraries do doesn’t translate very well to other library work and relating to my in-state colleagues leaves me unfulfilled. The KLAS Users’ Conference is a great way for me to recharge my batteries and other professionals who can relate to the joys and challenges of LBPH work." - Elke, OR
• "Attending the KLAS Users' Conferences provides me the opportunity to encounter awesome ideas and tips...tangible ideas I can take home to improve my library's services...from Keystone staff and personnel from other libraries for the blind." - Andrew, OK
• "The KUC is a chance to get together. We gather to discuss issues technical, and mundane. We laugh, we confer, and we hear from the staff at Keystone. Moreover we are exposed to new places (new to some), new ideas, and new ways to do things." - James, MA
• "The KLAS Users group gives us an opportunity to learn more about our ILS. We can do a better job for our library patrons if we can make the best use of the catalog." - Pat, GA

We hope you join us for June 3-6 for the 2019 KLAS Users' Conference hosted by the Palm Beach County Library Talking Book Service in West Palm Beach, FL!

Our next webinar is coming up fast, and it's going to be a fun one: it's time for another Q & A with Katy!

This is an informal, Keystone-presented webinar where I invite all of you to come put my KLAS knowledge to the test, and get answers to all those nagging questions. Whether it's a little thing that never quite feels worth emailing Customer Support about, or something you've asked before, but didn't quite understand the solution--I'll have my demo databases at the ready to walk you through the answer.

Of course, I don't know everything, so if you manage to stump me, I'll get the info, consult with Customer Support and the other experts here at Keystone, and get back to you.

All experience levels, staff roles, and organization types welcome!

• When: Thursday, Nov 2, 3:00pm Eastern Time / Noon Pacific
• Who: All KLAS users!
• Where: Zoom!
  • Zoom link - https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88940481673?pwd=MzRJNTYwaWR0ZkZ0NnRUQnlmRmhtUT09
  • Dial-in for Audio - https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kdG7n08Afh
    • Meeting ID: 889 4048 1673
    • Passcode: 670244

As usual, if you can't make it live, the session will be recorded for future viewing. You can even send in your questions ahead of time so I can cover them for you!

Finally, stay tuned, because we have plenty more online learning opportunities coming over the next year. We'll be hosting a webinar every month in 2024, covering a variety of Talking Books / LBPD-focused, IRC-focused, and general interest topics. In May, we'll hold an online Mini-Conference with Keystone updates, New Features, and more, so mark your calendars for May 7-8, 2024! In the meantime, if there's a topic you want to hear about, or something you want to share with the network, the Program Committee would love to hear from you.

I'm looking forward to chatting with you and answering all of your KLAS questions on November 2!