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Moving from Lend Engine

Understand how the move from Lend Engine works, who does what, and how long it takes.

Who can do this: the move is planned by your library's admins and trustees together with the Gizzago team. Coordinators and catalogue volunteers help with the tidy-up and the review list.

The move is not a button your library presses. We do it with you. The Gizzago team brings your toys, members, memberships and loans across from Lend Engine, and you check the result before anything goes live. Your members keep borrowing as normal on Lend Engine until move day.

Steps​

  1. Talk to us. We agree a rough date, usually a quiet week, and who at your library will be the main contact.
  2. Give us access to your data. We ask an admin to create an API key in Lend Engine and, where your Lend Engine plan offers it, take a full backup. Later we also ask for the contacts export from Lend Engine's admin screens. These files hold personal data, so we agree with you how they are sent and stored.
  3. Tidy up. Volunteers work through a list of things that are easier to fix before the move, such as toys called "Duplo *5" or members with no email address. See Tidy up before the move.
  4. Practice runs. We build a copy of your library in Gizzago from your Lend Engine data, as often as needed. You look round it, check your toys and members, and tell us what is wrong. Nothing changes in Lend Engine.
  5. Work the review list. Anything Gizzago could not decide on its own goes on a review list inside Gizzago, under Toys > Add toys > Lend Engine review. See Work through the Lend Engine review list.
  6. Move day. We pause Lend Engine, take a final copy, run the move, check the counts with you, switch your website buttons and send your members their invitations. See Move day, and inviting your members.
  7. Two weeks after. Lend Engine stays open read-only, so you can look things up. Then you take a last backup and cancel it.
What you'll see

After the first practice run, your library is in Gizzago with its toys, photos and categories, and the Add toys tab shows a Lend Engine review card with a count of things to look at. Your public catalogue can be checked before anyone else sees it.

What stays the same​

  • Your toy labels. The codes on your toys come across, so every label still scans.
  • Your Stripe account. Gizzago connects to the same account, so members' saved cards and payment history stay where they are.
  • Your members. They get an email inviting them to sign in. Nobody has to join again.

What changes​

  • Members choose a new password or passkey the first time they sign in, because passwords cannot be moved.
  • Volunteers and staff get their own invitations to Gizzago.
  • Your website's "Browse toys" and "Join" buttons point to Gizzago instead.