Public libraries are available read-only to all organizations using the CMS. They serve as a means to obtain content for use with the CTC CMS Desktop Application from many providers.

Some of the key features are:

• Public Content Access - content libraries can be shared by library admins with any organization using CMS.

• Optionally Subscribe - choose which public libraries to expose to the organization.

• Access Control - grant access to certain user groups in the organization.

NOTE: Users of other organizations cannot edit, add, update, comment or rate content in public libraries.

Log in to the portal and go to LIBRARIES.

A public library must have the “Upload Content” option checked. This is enforced when checking “Make Public”.

Helpful descriptions are useful to organizations when determining whether the content in the library is appropriate for their users.

IMPORTANT:

If choosing an existing library that did not previously have this option checked, the content will not be available until it is re-processed. For this reason and, it is recommended to create new libraries for public consumption.

Because all of the content in a public library is available for download and use, it is very important to ensure that the library does not contain any sensitive or proprietary materials.

Start by creating a library to make public. To learn how to do this, go to the [Creating Libraries Section](./libraries/#createlibraries)

In step one, make sure to check the box for “Make Public”. Checking this will force the “Upload Content” option to select.

Move on to step 2 or click SAVE and CLOSE to finish.

Preview images add visual appeal to a library listing and can help describe the content they contain.

To ensure that the image displays well in the list, use square aspect, crisp graphics with maximum dimensions of 500px.

Acceptable image types are: .PNG, .JPG/.JPEG and .GIF. BMP and TIFF are not generally compressed and should be avoided.

To associate an image to a library, click the pencil icon to edit and skip to step 2.

Browse to the desired image and choose it.

Click UPDATE.

Proceed to Permissions (Grant Access) or click close to finish.

To update an image, repeat the above procedure. The new image will overwrite the old.

When an organization subscribes to a public library, all of the content it contains will be available. Additionally, the content will always be up to date from the provider.

A subscription can be turned off any time. The groups that were previously granted will still be associated but the library will no longer be visible to the user group(s).

The list of public libraries has a few features that make finding content quick and easy.

• Search - matches the search term to library titles in the list.

• Sort - changes the decending order of the listing.

• Filter Toolbar - filters out libraries that don't meet the criteria selected.

The provider of the library is shown below the preview image.

On the list of libraries, click the switch control of the desired library. This will prompt to select groups for which to grant access.

Libraries that are subscribed by the organization are shown with the subscribe switch activated ('SUBSCRIBED' filter button).

Libraries that do not have a subscribe switch indicate public libraries that have been provided by the current organization ('MYPUBLIC' filter button).

By granting access to user groups, the public library will be shown to the user. In addition, searches will include results from public libraries.

To learn how to create and manage user groups, Jump to the User Groups section of the guide

To manage groups, go to CTC Portal USERS and GROUPS

On the public libraries list, click the groups icon of a previously subscribed library to grant access.

On the grant form, click in to the search field to present the list of available groups.

Select groups from the list. Type the first few letters of a group name to filter the list.

Click ADD to add the selected groups to the list.

When all of the desired groups have been added, click SAVE to apply the changes.

Public libraries are indicated in the CMS desktop application by a small globe icon. The name of the organization is also included as with shared libraries to indicate to the user the provider of the library.

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