As a unit or collection administrator, when you navigate to your unit or collection in IDEALS, you will see options unavailable on other units or collections. Collection administrators are also called "Managers." From the "Items" page, you can export a CSV inventory. Other options appear on the "About this Unit" page including "Edit Properties" to change the description, title, or rights, "Change Unit Membership" to create child-units, and "Add Collection."

Only a unit administrator may manage a unit or collection. 

What can a unit / collection administrator do that a submitter can't?

Unit administrators can:

• Create and edit all child-units within a unit
• Create and edit all collections within a unit
• Add administrators for child-units and collections
• Add submitters for collections
• Add items to all collections within a unit
• Edit all items within all collections within a unit
• Withdraw items within all collections within a unit
• Map items to their collections

Collection administrators can:

• Edit their collection
• Add administrators for their collection
• Add submitters for their collection
• Add items to their collection
• Edit all items within their collection
• Withdraw items within their collection
• Map items to their collection

Submitters can:

• Add items to the collection(s) they belong to

When you click "Edit Properties," you will be able to add language into the Introductory Text field. Please note that you must use basic HTML to do this (such <p> tags around paragraphs). Please contact ideals@library.illinois.edu if you have any questions about this process. You can also add a small logo to the page.

You can add as many child-units and collections as you would like. We do recommend, however, that you keep your unit fairly flat as that allows easier navigation and indexing by external sites.

When you have logged in and are in the unit, there is a link to add "Change Unit Membership" which allows you to add child-units. To create a new collection, click "Add Collection." You will be prompted to provide a name for your new child-unit or collection, and can then add metadata using the "Edit Properties" menu on the child-unit or collection's "About" page. None of this metadata is required (even the name; IDEALS will default to "Untitled"), but providing it will make your child-units and collections more searchable and identifiable.

When you first establish a collection, by default only the unit/collection administrators will be able to deposit items into that collection. However, you may want to allow a specific group of individuals the ability to deposit items. You can do this in a couple of different ways:

• Add individual users one by one to the submitter or administrator group; or
• If it is a group that has a U of I Active Directory group already formed, contact IDEALS staff at ideals@library.illinois.edu and we will add that group to the submission workflow. The benefit to this practice is that you do not have to maintain this group in IDEALS, only in Active Directory (which is often maintained by your local IT group). If you are not sure whether your group has an Active Directory group, contact your local IT support.

To add submitters or administrators to your collection:

1. Log into IDEALS and navigate to the "Access" page of the collection that you wish to manage.

2. Move to the "Submitters" tab right underneath the collection title.

3. On the right side of the page, select "Edit Submitters.

4. Select a group from the list or enter a user's email at the bottom of the list.

5. Click "Save Changes."

An Item Submission Workflow allows you to have some level of human intervention with every item submitted into a given collection. The Item Submission Workflow is established when you create a new collection. You can also edit the workflow's steps when you edit an existing collection. To edit the steps, navigate to the collection's "About This Collection" page and select "Edit Properties" on the left side of the page. Then check "Submissions Reviewed" and save your changes.

Why you might decide to establish a workflow

If you decide not to limit who can submit items to your collection, we recommend that you establish an Item Submission Workflow for that collection. Establishing an Item Submission Workflow will give you more control over what items are added into your collection. It allows you the option of rejecting items which do not meet your collection criteria.

Establishing an Item Submission Workflow also allows you to specify who may edit or enhance the metadata of a new item, before that item becomes "live" in your collection.

Why you might decide not to have a workflow

You may not want to establish an Item Submission Workflow if you want all submitted items to become immediately "live" within the collection. An Item Submission Workflow always requires some level of human-intervention before an item becomes "live".

Metadata profiles are maintained by IDEALS staff. If the existing profiles do not fit the needs of your unit or collection, please contact IDEALS staff to discuss options.

Only a Unit Liaison can request a unit be removed. In order to have a unit removed from IDEALS, you must request this removal be performed by the IDEALS staff. WARNING: ONCE DELETED, A UNIT AND ITS CONTENTS CANNOT BE RECOVERED. This includes all child-units, collections, and items in the unit. Before making this request, make sure that there is absolutely NO chance you would require this unit in the future. Be warned that all child-units, collections and items within this unit will also be deleted when the unit is deleted.

Once you are sure you want to remove a unit forever, contact IDEALS staff at ideals@library.illinois.edu with the following information:

• Your contact information (Name, NetID, email, phone)
• Unit name and handle/location within IDEALS
• Reason(s) why this unit should be deleted forever.

We will contact you to verify and approve the request before deleting the unit in question.

Only a Unit Liaison can request a collection be removed. In order to have a collection removed from IDEALS, you must request this removal be performed by the IDEALS staff. WARNING: ONCE DELETED, A COLLECTION AND THE ITEMS IN IT CANNOT BE RECOVERED. Before making this request, make sure that there is absolutely NO chance you would require this collection in the future. Be warned that all items within this collection will also be deleted when the collection is deleted. 

Once you are sure you want to remove this collection forever, contact IDEALS staff at ideals@library.illinois.edu with the following information: 

• Your contact information (Name, NetID, email, phone)
• Collection name and handle/location within IDEALS
• Reason(s) why this collection should be deleted forever. 

We will contact you to verify and approve the request before deleting the collection in question.