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A session day with Gizzago

Follow one Saturday morning at a toy library to see how the pieces fit together.

This is Hollowbrook Toy Library, our made-up demo library. It opens on Saturday from 9:30 to 11:30 in a community centre. Morgan coordinates; Sam and Jo are on the desk today.

Friday evening: packing​

Reservations closed at 6pm (the cut-off), so the pick list is now final. Morgan opens Today, sees the Saturday session card ("4 reservations to collect, 9 due back") and presses Pack.

The pick list is grouped by shelf, with each toy's code and piece count. Morgan presses Mark picked as each toy goes into a named crate. One puzzle cannot be found, so Morgan presses Not found and chooses to tell the member. Toys that are due back on Saturday before they can go out again are listed under Due back first.

Members who reserved get an email that evening asking Still coming? One family presses Release them, which frees their toys for someone else.

9:15: opening up​

Sam switches on the desk tablet, taps their name on Who's on the desk? and types their PIN. The session opens on its Pack stage; Sam presses Open desk.

9:30: the first family​

Kate Ashworth arrives with two toys to return and wants to borrow two more.

  1. Sam scans the first returned toy. No member is needed for a return. The card shows who had it and when it was due. Sam counts the pieces: the block set is one block short, so Sam presses + next to Missing, types "red arch block" in the note and presses Return, 1 piece missing. Gizzago notes the missing piece against the toy and against Kate, and emails her a friendly note.
  2. Sam types "ashw" and picks Kate. Her header shows her membership, how many toys she has out against her limit, her children's age bands and any flags.
  3. Sam scans the two new toys. Each line shows the fee and a due date that lands on a day the library is open.
  4. Done opens the Pay panel: £2 of hire fees. Kate hands over £5; the panel shows £3 change. Finish payment.

About a minute, start to finish.

9:50: a family who reserved​

Omar Bishop's header says "2 reserved for today". Sam presses Add both, then Done and takes payment. The reservation is marked collected.

10:10: a new family​

Nobody matches when Sam types the name, so Sam presses Register new member, fills in the short form (name, postcode, children's birth month and year if they want to give them) and presses Register and continue. The new member is loaded and ready to borrow. If they need a membership, a Renew membership line joins the visit.

10:30: a toy that is not in the catalogue​

A family picks a wooden train from a box of donations nobody has catalogued yet. Sam types "wooden train", finds nothing, and uses Not in the catalogue yet to lend it anyway. It goes on the To catalogue list for Morgan.

Meanwhile, Jo on the floor​

Jo checks toys as they come back. A big marble run needs a proper count, so at the desk it was returned with Count later. It waits in the Floor queue, not lendable, until Jo presses Count now.

11:30: cash-up​

Sam taps Cash-up in the header. Gizzago shows what should be in the tin by method. Sam counts the cash, types the total into Cash counted now and presses Finish session. If the tin is out, Gizzago asks for a short note saying why. The Session closed summary shows the four lines Morgan will read on Today, and the handover note for next time.

Monday evening: the coordinator's half hour​

Morgan opens Today on a phone, presses Chase on the overdue row and sends reminders in one go, then looks at Toys to catalogue and Missing pieces to plan the week.