Method and apparatus for scheduling a meeting

A method of setting up a meeting with a plurality of participants, the meeting to be facilitated by desired resources, the method comprising:

• specifying characteristics of the meeting and the desired resources for facilitating the meeting;
• communicating with a plurality of scheduling agents corresponding, respectively, with the plurality of participants and with a processor function for each of a plurality of resources corresponding to the desired resources;
• negotiating, given the characteristics of the meeting, with the plurality of scheduling agents to determine availability of the plurality of participants and with the processor function for each of the plurality of resources to determine availability of the desired resources;
• scheduling the meeting when sufficient desired resources and a sufficient number of the plurality of participants are available;
• and
• reserving the desired resources that are available for the meeting.