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Children's data

Know exactly what Gizzago keeps about children, so you can answer parents' questions with confidence.

Who can do this: admins choose the library's settings. Coordinators and families add children (see Children).

Information about children needs extra care. Gizzago is built to keep as little as possible while still letting your library suggest the right toys and count who it reaches for funders.

What Gizzago keeps, and what it never asks for​

  • Month and year of birth only. Never the day, so never a full date of birth.
  • The age band is worked out by Gizzago from the month and year. Nobody types it in, and it moves up as the child grows.
  • No surname, and no sex. Gizzago has nowhere to store them.
  • Names are optional and off by default. If your library turns them on, it is a first name or nickname only, and families can leave it blank.
  • Children are never required. A family can join with no children, or add them later.

Children belong to the household. The borrower is always the adult.

Steps: choose how your library records children​

  1. Press Settings in the sidebar, then People and forms.
  2. Under Joining form, find How children are recorded and choose one:
    • Birth month and year (the default, best for suggesting toys);
    • An age group only, which stores a band and no birth date at all;
    • Do not ask about children.
  3. Leave Ask for a nickname for each child off unless you have a real use for it. If you turn it on, fill in Why do you ask?. Families see this next to the question.
  4. Press Save.
What you'll see

What families will see, at the bottom of the page, previews the joining form with your choices. Families joining online see "This is optional" and "We only ever ask for a month and year, never a full birthday."

Where children's details go, and where they do not​

  • CSV exports of your people lists never include children's details.
  • A member's own data download includes their children, because it is their data.
  • Your full library export (for admins) includes the children table, so keep that file safe.
  • Anonymising a person removes their children's dates.

What to tell a parent who asks​

"We only keep your child's month and year of birth, so we can suggest toys for their age and count how many children we reach. We never ask for their full birthday, and their name is not needed. You can change or remove this any time from the Family page of your account."