General - background on fred


What is a piece of listing?

Listings can be any resource that is research related. For example, a user could share a specific piece of research equipment like a 'mass spectrometer' or post a research event. Fred allows users to define new types of 'resources' for listings on the fly so you are not constrained to the predefined types.

What does fred stand for?

Facilities, Resources, and Events Database.

Why was fred created?

Fred's mandate was to foster research and facilitate research collaborations. With an online listing of sharable research resources, researchers, students and individuals from industry and not-for-profit organizations can easily locate research related resources quickly and have instant access to a contact.

After three years of operation it became apparent that there was demand for a database that permitted all BC researchers to list sharable listings pending institutional agreement. As a result, fred was redeveloped to address a wider audience, allow users to maintain records, and for much more powerful searching mechanisms.

Is fred UBC only?

No, fred currently caters to anyone in British Columbia who wishes to share listings which are research related.

Users can add new building locations to fred but we do not allow users to add 'site' locations without requesting them.

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Explore - how to find listings


How do I narrow my search?

  1. Increase the amount of terms in the open text box.
  2. Using the three drop down boxes in conjunction with the open text box.

How do I contact the listing's owner?

A listing should have the contact information available when you view the details. Sometimes the owner of the listing (the one who posted it) uses different contact details for listings.

What is the 'mapper' page?

The mapper page displays listings by building location. This tool can be useful for users unfamiliar with the location of buildings and to see a visual representation of listings filtered by resource type.

There can be many uses for the mapper, for example users looking for meeting rooms can easily locate all meetings rooms on UBC Point Grey campus.

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Accounts


Why should I sign up for an account?

You should sign up for an account if you want to:

  • Share listings with the public
  • Track listings that you wish to monitor

How come fred doesn't use UBC Campus Wide Login (CWL)?

Fred caters to the entire province and will be expanding based on demand. CWL logins are only specific to UBC and so we felt adding CWL authentication would confuse users rather than simplify things.

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Share


What is the purpose of sharing?

Sharing is an easy way to make your listing visible to the public and it's free! Fred was designed around searching to make it easier for users to find what they want. By sharing listings on fred you are contributing to a growing database and increasing your visibility to a large audience.

Can I use a different contact for my listing?

Yes, you can define a specific contact per listing so that people know who to contact. This is useful when the contact for a listing changes on a frequent basis, but the actual owner of the listing remains constant.

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