Sue --

A good place to start looking for inspiration might be Ann Arbor's telescope loan collection in Michigan - http://www.aadl.org/telescopes - and a good set of brains to pick might be Deputy Director Eli Neiburger's - he's @ulotrichous on Twitter and his contact details are here - http://www.aadl.org/eli

Matt Finch

On Thu, Feb 16, 2017 at 9:10 AM, John Usher <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

If this assumes that the public library will take this on, and not a separate body, some random thoughts:

1) What's the customer demand for this, or is it just opportunites being explored, with the public libraries being one possible outlet?

2) How much 'stuff' (e.g. laptops, tablets, audio players) has historically been and is currently being loaned by public libraries? What are the loan and handling implications of that? Are libraries any good at it?

Home Library Services (where they exist) might be a good place to start asking some questions and share experience - e.g. specialist players for audio recordings. Toy lbrary experience? Other?

How good is current handling and checking of CD's and games discs within libraries? How good was handling and checking of records and tape? 

Some accessibility companies have proposed devices libraries could loan (e.g. hand held SCART TV magnifiers for books, USB sticks with accessibilty software pre-loaded) - how many services have ever supported these?

3) Where is this 'stuff' going to live? Self Service has reduced counters and the availabiity of storage to put it.

4) Customer/User expectations of staff familiarity with a wide variety of 'stuff' - cf. customer/user expectations of staff stock and IT knowledge/skills? Customer/User training? 'Silver Tool User' Training? 

Staff upgrades in line with upskilling and multi-tasking?

5) Can the Library Management Systems (specifications recently in debate on this list) cope? Their bookings facilities haven't for PC Bookings, requiring additional specialist systems - and limited integration to link the user database (and slow progress on upgrading that - SIP2. Need to extend the LCF to cope?). Impact on Acquisitions system? Handling of items with multiple parts?

Catalogue/OPAC presentation?

'Click and Collect' - can the online reservation system cope?

 

and I'm sure much more - much, much more...

Or put in a parallel manual system, which is counter to the recent direction of travel of reducing library staffing?

6) RFID systems - will such items fit on a kiosk? Out of hours returns and drop boxes/sorters? Not a new issue - I once asked if waterproof and 'chew-proof' tags were available for toys, and would toys fit in a kiosk receptacle? - I was being serious, but it was not appreciated. But now?

7) Will (e.g.) tool hire companies complain - like the late video hire shops, when libraries started to loan VHS - that this is an intrusion into commercial activities?

8) Will users need 'certificates of competence' to handle tools to allay concerns of liability of the local authority? Who will assess and issue?

9) Will all electrical equipment need to be PAT tested between uses? If so by whom?

10) Value of items relative to book/CD value? - recovery processes for non-returns? A different dimension.

etc. etc.

Innovation by all means - but this seems to have very significant implications. Has it been thought through?

Regards

John Usher

Retired Library Systems Manager

On 15 February 2017 at 17:10, Sue Comitti <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Hi all

 

Here in the London Borough of Hackney we are looking into the idea of something called a ‘Library of Things’. This is whereby the library service loans out items such as electric drills, bread makers etc.

 

Does anyone else already do this? Or have any ideas about such a scheme.

 

Thanks a lot

 

Sue

 

 

 

Sue Comitti

Library and Heritage Services Manager

Public Realm

Neighbourhoods and Housing Directorate

Hackney Council

Hackney Service Centre

1 Hillman Street

E8 1DY

020 8356 7572

[log in to unmask]

www.hackney.gov.uk

 

 

 

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www.mechanicaldolphin.com/about