Calendars at PSU

Resource calendars are Google calendars that track the availability of PSU campus resources such as conference rooms, classrooms, and other meeting spaces; they can also be used to reserve shared resources like equipment or vehicles.

Shared calendars differ from resource calendars in that they’re not used to track and manage the availability of shared resources, instead, they can be used for organization, planning and coordinating tasks – team reminders and events, attendance, shared schedules, and appointment bookings are all good use cases for a Shared calendar.

If you’re unsure which type of calendar you need, it's usually best to start with a Shared calendar, as they offer greater flexibility and more privacy by default. The following table reviews these differences in more depth.

You can view and manage your calendars through the Google Calendar web interface.

Table of Contents

Resource Calendars versus Shared Calendars

The following table breaks down the primary differences between Resource and Shared calendars:

Difference

Resource Calendar

Shared Calendar

Difference

Resource Calendar

Shared Calendar

Who creates the calendar

OIT

Everyone can create Shared calendars

Who manages the calendar

The calendar’s owners

The calendar’s owners

Who can see the calendar

Initially, anyone at PSU can view the calendar, but the calendar’s owners can customize its list of viewers

Initially, only the calendar’s owners can view the calendar, but they can customize its list of viewers

Who can create or change calendar events

Initially, anyone at PSU can create or change events, but the owners can customize these permissions

Initially, only calendar’s owners can create or change events, but the owners can customize these permissions

Where is the calendar visible

Can be found through the “find a room/location” dialog when creating a meeting in Google Calendar

Visible to those it's shared with, in Google Calendar's calendar list

Example calendar use cases

  • conference room

  • Zoom room

  • classroom

  • computer lab

  • other shared space

  • shared equipment

  • shared vehicle

  • team attendance tracker

  • internal department schedule

  • shared events and reminders tracker

  • appointments calendar

  • project scheduling calendar

Request a New Resource Calendar or Create a Shared Calendar

Resource Calendar

To request a resource calendar, first verify it doesn't already exist by creating a new event and browsing through the list of resources. Resource calendars show up in the same public list as Rooms. If no calendar exists for the resource, you can complete the Resource calendar support form to request a new calendar.

A note about Resource Calendar names

Resource calendars are named using what Google calls structured resource naming. This results in a consistent naming pattern for all newly created Resource calendars. Their names take this format:
[building]-[floor]-[room number]-[room name] ([room capacity]) [Audio and video features]


Here is an example room name using that format:
FAB-2-285A-OIT Jump Space (1) [Projector]

Shared Calendar

On the other hand, if a Shared calendar suits your needs better, it's easy to create one.

Set Calendar Permissions

You can configure any calendar with varying levels of access, including who can view the calendar and who can schedule events on it. You must have the permission level of “Make changes and manage sharing” in the calendar’s sharing settings to manage access to your calendar. For more information about sharing your calendar with others, reference Google’s Share Your Calendar with Someone support article. 

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