What resources can you suggest?

• Any type of document, video, CD-ROM, website, PowerPoint presentation, distance learning material, or software that is relevant to rural finance and can be referenced, linked or uploaded, can be included in the Rural Finance Learning Centre. Inclusion means that an abstract is created and stored in the system together with all the other details of title, author, date of publication, language, volume, series, ISBN numbers and so on. This information about a resource is known as a "knowledge object".
• If the resource can be accessed directly online in an electronic format, the information provided will include a link to its location so that it can be downloaded, saved or read online. If the resource is a book, CD-ROM or video however, the information provided will tell the user how to order a copy by email, post or online. It is a good idea to read our Content and Submissions Policy and Copyright Statement before you start suggesting resources.
• It is also possible to suggest the addition of information about events, training courses or items of news to be included in the system. To suggest news items or events such as conferences, go to the news gateway. To suggest a training course, go to the training gateway and select the "Training opportunities" topic. The details of these types of items are also called knowledge objects but they have an expiry date and will delete themselves from the system.

How to suggest

To suggest resources to the RFLC you must be a registered member of the Rural Finance Learning Centre.

• First login and then search or browse to find the topic to which you would like to add your resource. It may be helpful to read the topic introductions to decide which is the most relevant topic.
• In the bottom section of the topic screen you will see the +suggest link next to a box with a drop down list of add forms. Click on the type of resource you would like to suggest (e.g., document, multimedia, training course, news, event, etc.) and it will appear in the box, then click on the +suggest link and the appropriate form will appear. You can also click directly on the SUGGEST A RESOURCE link that is at the bottom of the main page of resources to arrive directly to the suggest form.
• Following the on-screen examples, enter the information (metadata) requested in the fields provided.
  Abstracts are particularly important and should be written carefully and in a manner which makes it clear to the potential reader what the usefulness of this particular item is to him or her. The majority of knowledge objects should have a very practical application to those working in the field – the Rural Finance Learning Centre is not intended to be a base only for academic discussion. The key focus of the item should be stated and who will find it useful, together with an overview of chapters, topics or sections. If there are examples of forms or checklists, this should be mentioned or if it is a case study, the context and applicability to other situations should be explained.
• Enter keywords specific to the subject of your knowledge. If you wish you may refer to the keyword list provided.
• Click on Submit. You will be notified, via your Inbox, whether your resource has been accepted by the topic editor. You can also check your Recent Activity screen to see if the KO has been added.
• If you are not sure or cannot find a relevant topic to which you think your resource should be added, you may email the details to the RFLC and the Chief Editor will review your suggestion.

Linking to more than one topic

• When you suggest a resource for a particular topic, you can also suggest linking it to other topics in the RFLC using the Relate KO to Topics box at the bottom of the suggestion form.
• Click on the Sitemap link in the left hand side bar of the suggestion form (this will open up the list of topics in your current gateway in a new smaller screen), then copy and paste the required topic number(s) only into the relevant box in the suggest form, separating each topic number with either a comma (,) or a semi-colon (;).
• When you click on submit, your suggestion will be sent to all of the editor(s) of topics to which you suggested linking your resource.

Editing the details of your resource

• Once your resource has been accepted you can go back in at any time and edit the reference information, i.e. the knowledge object you have created, as necessary.
• To access your knowledge object, after login, go to the My Knowledge tab in the my info section, click on the Edit button next to the relevant knowledge object to go to the Edit screen and make the necessary changes.
• Then click on 'submit' to complete the edit process.
• Your edited knowledge object will go back to the Inbox of each of the Editors of the topics it is linked to. You will be notified within a few days whether the changes have been accepted by each respective topic editor.
• Please note that your knowledge object may also be edited by the editors of topics it is linked to and by the Chief Editor, e.g., to correct any spelling mistakes or add additional keywords or details.

Deleting a resource

• Knowledge can only be completely deleted from the system by the owner or by the Chief Editor, topic editors can only de-link a knowledge object from their topic.
• To delete a knowledge object, go into the Edit screen for that KO and click on the Delete button at the bottom of the screen.
• News, Events and Training Opportunities have an expiry date after which they are automatically deleted from the system.