Alerts#

The library website has two types of notices: Site Alerts and Contextual Alerts.
- Site alerts are displayed in the header on every public page.
- Contextual alerts are displayed only on pages that meet certain conditions.

Showing/Hiding the “Read More” Button#

Desired Result	“Message” Field	“Read More URL” Field
No “Read More” Button	Add content to the “Message” field.	Leave “Read More URL” field blank.
Read More Button --> Alert Page	Add content to the “Message” field.	Leave “Read More URL” field blank.
Read More Button --> Drupal page or External page	Leave “Message” field blank.	Add a URL to the “Read More URL” field. Can be a relative path.

Add a Site Alert (Yellow Bar at Top of Website)#

A site alert is shown on every page of the website in the yellow bar at the top of the screen.

Go to Content > Alerts.
Select the Add Alert Message button.
Select Site Alert.
Fill out the form:
Label (required): This is a staff-only identifier. It is only shown to staff who are logged in to the website.
Headline (required): This is the alert text that users see in the yellow bar at the top of every page on the site.
Message (optional): If patrons need more information, add that content here. Read more link will take users to a page showing the "message" information.
Read More URL (optional): If you want to point users to a specific web page, not the generic alert page, put that link here. You must include the full URL, not a relative path. The read more link will take users to the page URL you indicated.
Message Publish: Select the start and end date for your alert.
Select time period the alert will be active.
Save.

Add a Contextual Alert to a Specific Page#

A contextual alert is shown on individual pages or types of content. For example, you can post a contextual alert to a single database page (if ABC-CLIO is broken) or an alert to one or more branch pages (if we’re paving driveways and want to alert visitors).

Go to Content > Alerts.
Select the Add Alert Message button.
Select Contextual Alert.
Fill out the form:
Label (required): This is a staff-only identifier. It is only shown to staff who are logged in to the website.
Headline (required): This is the alert text that users see in the yellow bar at the top of every page on the site.
Message (optional): If patrons need more information, add that content here. Read more link will take users to a page showing the "message" information.
Read More URL (optional): If you want to point users to a specific web page, not the generic alert page, put that link here. You must include the full URL, not a relative path. The read more link will take users to the page URL you indicated.
Notification Conditions: Set the context for your alert. You can combine conditions, for example using request path and language conditions.
NPL Branch: Displays an alert on one or more location pages. Select the NPL Branch tab, then check the box next to the branch(es) that should display the alert.
Response status: Ignore.
Request Path: Displays an alert on one or more pages based on URL. For example, you could post an alert on the ABC-CLIO database only (rather than all databases) by putting the ABC-CLIO URL in the “pages” field.
Current Theme: Ignore.
Content Type: Displays an alert on all pieces of a specific type of content, like all databases or all internship opportunity posts. Select the Content Type tab, then check the box for the specific type of content you want to target.
Message Publish: Select the start and end date for your alert.
Select time period the alert will be active.
Save.

Edit Existing Alerts#

Log in to the web site at https://library.nashville.gov/user with your username and password.
Go to Content > Alerts.
You should see a list of alerts. Select Edit next to the alert. Or use the dropdown arrow to delete an alert.
Make your changes and save. Your alert will only be visible to users if you update the publish start and end dates.
Save your changes.

Closing a Branch for an Extended Period of Time#

Add Extended Closure Notice#

Each branch page has a field called an "extended closure notice." Adding content to the extended closure notice field will replace the branch hours with text. These are not created using alerts but look similar, which is why we've made a note here.

See Closure Notice info on Locations page for step-by-step.

Add Alert to Catalog#

Catalog (NPL or School)#

Log in to the catalog: https://catalog.library.nashville.gov
Click on “hamburger menu” to the right of your account name. Select Aspen Administration.
In the LOCAL CATALOG ENRICHMENT section, select System Messages.
Select Add New or edit an existing message.
Add New > Click Add New button:
1. Title: Type the title of the alert that is visible in the admin view.
2. Message to Show: Type the message visible to patrons.
3. Show On: Select the places to show the message.
4. Message Style: Select warning (yellow).
5. Start Date to Show: Select the date the message will publish.
6. End Date to Show: Select the date the message will unpublish.
7. Dismissible: Check the box if you’d like the alert to be dismissable.
8. Libraries: Select MNPS for school catalog. Select NPL for library catalog. Select both boxes if the message is the same for both systems.
9. Locations: For Aspen System Messages to show up on in-branch OPAC screens (and public internet terminals browsing to catalog.library.nashville.gov), the branch must be selected in the Locations list for the system message. I.e., it's probably best that, when posting a message to Aspen, you select All Libraries and All Locations.
Edit Existing > Click edit button.
Scroll to the bottom of the page, click ‘Save Changes and Return.’
Go to catalog.library.nashville.gov or school.library.nashville.gov and verify changes are visible and correct.