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Setting up your library

Get a new library ready to lend, in the order that saves you going back.

Who can do this: an admin. A coordinator can do most steps; the public site needs an admin.

Today shows a Finish setting up checklist until these are done. Each item on it links to the right page, so you can also just work down that list.

Steps​

  1. Your details. Go to Settings > Organisation. Add your library's name, contact email, phone, address, charity number and time zone. Choose your words: "toys", "tools" or "things", and what you call a session. See Organisation.
  2. Where you lend from. In Settings > Sites and sessions, add each site (a hall, a store, a shop). Gizzago gives each one standard places, such as shelves, a store, repair and quarantine, which you can rename. See Sites and sessions.
  3. When you are open. In Calendar > Rules and closures, press Add rule for each weekly session (for example every Saturday, 9:30am to 11:30am). Add closures for holidays. See Weekly rules and closures.
  4. How borrowing works. In Settings > Borrowing, set the loan length, renewals, late fees (or none) and whether members can reserve. See Borrowing.
  5. What people join on. In Settings > Membership plans, add your plans, such as a yearly family plan, a concession and a free trial. Set hire fees in Settings > Fees and payments. See Membership plans and Fees and payments.
  6. Your toys. Add a few by hand, photograph a box of donations with Capture, or import a spreadsheet. See Add a toy, Photograph donations with Capture and Import from a spreadsheet or a Capture file. Moving from Lend Engine? We bring your catalogue across with you: see Moving from Lend Engine.
  7. Your team. In Settings > Team and devices, invite coordinators and volunteers and give each a role, and set a desk PIN for each volunteer. See Team and devices.
  8. A desk tablet. On the tablet you will use at sessions, turn on desk mode. See Set up a desk tablet.
  9. Your website. In Settings > Public site, add your logo and colours, choose what the home page shows and press Publish changes. See Colours, fonts, icons and shape.
  10. Card payments (optional). To take card payments online, connect your library's own Stripe account in Settings > Fees and payments. Cash and a separate card reader at the desk work without it.
What you'll see

Each finished step ticks itself off in Finish setting up on Today. When all are done, the checklist goes away.

Try it before families do​

Run a pretend session: unlock the desk, lend a toy to yourself, return it with a missing piece, take £1 in cash and cash up. Then look at Today and the session summary. It takes ten minutes and makes the first real Saturday calm.