An integrated web environment for fast access and easy management of a synchrotron beam line

Tired of all the time spent on the phone or sending emails to schedule beam time? Why not make your own schedule when it is convenient to you? The integrated web environment at the NIGMS East Coast Structural Biology Research Facility allows users to schedule their own beam time as if they were making travel arrangements and provides staff with a set of toolkits for management of routine tasks. These unique features are accessible through the MediaWiki-powered home pages. Here we describe the main features of this web environment that have shown to allow for an efficient and effective interaction between the users and the facility.