Library Inventory and Checkout

So you have the BIG idea that the Church or community needs to develop. Discuss that idea here. Maybe you just want to make a suggestion on a new forum topic. Let us know.
CJohnson-p40
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#21

Post by CJohnson-p40 »

cannona wrote:Whatever we come up with, I just hope its open source, so I can use it to track our pantry inventory. My wife has been bugging me for a solution for months. :)

Aaron
Some 'pantry' items will already have RFID tags on them, you'd just need to scan them in as they came using the existing data some stores provide (Walmart for one) - I believe the FDA or one of those groups mandated that all major chains switch to an RFID system for inventory.
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thedqs
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#22

Post by thedqs »

Well for the RFID idea, some stores are playing with the idea to throw out barcodes and just have every supplier have an RFID on the product. In which case your pantery would just have to scan what is in it and what is missing.
- David
jraisor
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#23

Post by jraisor »

Since this topic exists I will stop looking for an existing solution.

I am not interested in a checkout system, those are either too cumbersome or too expensive to implement and who cares how many white board erasers are still available, it costs more to track those items than it does to replace them and the loss ratio isn't high enough to notice.

I am looking for an indexing system for pictures (and other media) in a ward meetinghouse library? As a new ward librarian with a computer background I am trying to find a way to locate the pictures people ask for to use in their lessons that are starting in a few minutes, usually from vague descriptions of the picture.

So I started indexing the pictures in our library. A previous librarian had an index of materials on spreadsheets which I have used as a starting point. I now have a simplistic database and half functional user interface and I am now through checking almost half of the pictures and my count is close to a thousand. At least 1 out of 10 pictures were not in the existing printed list which means they would never be used. A printed list is also extremely difficult to keep up to date.

If there is enough interest the project could go a lot further.

A web based database would let teachers see if a picture was available and then give librarians enough information about the picture to find it quickly.

Thumbnails of the pictures would also be fun to have to see if the picture really matches what the title suggests. This part can be limited (or omitted) if thumbnails trigger copyright concerns.

I have other ideas, but these are the primary reasons for doing this.

Even if I don't manage to find someone willing to maintain the list after I leave, I will at least leave the library with a more complete printout of the pictures in the library and a data disk with the current list in case someone eventually wants to continue the effort.
Rfilessr-p40
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Library Inventory Checkout.

#24

Post by Rfilessr-p40 »

emckirdy wrote:Has any thought been given to computerizing the meetinghouse library? Such software would create an excellent record of who has what items, and what items even exist in the first place. It'd also enhance the choir music usage process -- in our building of four wards, we never know which choir has what music, and much chaos has ensued.

Yes that is the right way to do it. But I would suggest that we take a complete inventory of all materials we have in ward library as of now. As you do it, you can weed out items no longer needed, out dated, or both. This should be done before anything else is even considered. Once done then show it to your counselor in the Bishopric for approval. Once that is done then go ahead and but it on disk. You can make the disk avaiable for all teacher & including visiting & hometeachers as well.
The nice part on this is the next person who gets the calling as Ward librarian can look at the disk and up date as needed. { NOT REDO IT ALL OVER AGAIN ]
Yes we are going hi tech so it is important that we as librarians keep up with the new changes with in the church.
I also recommend that you go over all of the equipment that is in the library and know how to use it, if that has not been done. IMPORTANT STEP. I will have more info on library useage as time goes on.
I have been a Assistant ward librarian back in the late eighties. and as of this past February 2010 I was called as ward librarian, Im still learning my calling. We are an important resource to the ward{s}. :):):):)
techgy
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#25

Post by techgy »

Rfilessr wrote:Yes that is the right way to do it. But I would suggest that we take a complete inventory of all materials we have in ward library as of now. As you do it, you can weed out items no longer needed, out dated, or both. This should be done before anything else is even considered. Once done then show it to your counselor in the Bishopric for approval. Once that is done then go ahead and but it on disk. You can make the disk avaiable for all teacher & including visiting & hometeachers as well.
We had actually considered this approach for our library. However, some of the individuals who are called to serve in the library are not technically-minded, and some have never used a computer before. They serve extremely well in the library, but faced with having to work a computer program to keep track of who has what item, would be difficult for them.

Another problem we faced is that most members perform on MST (mormon standard time) and show up just before their classes to pick any items they need. If they have requested these in advance so that a librarian has the time to enter the information into a computer then it would work. However, there are those who show up at the library desk 10 minutes before their class and request items on short notice.

I think the idea of creating an inventory listing of the contents of the library would be beneficial but a check-out system that operates in real-time just like the public library, may be hard to implement. I guess it sort of depends upon the situation (technical ability, support, etc).
Have you read the Code of Conduct?
lnielson
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Computerized Library

#26

Post by lnielson »

When I was a librarian a few years ago, getting a computer in the library was nearly impossible so I created a manual index of all the materials (photos, DVD's, VCR's, etc) and then picked up the thumbnail images from the Church distribution center website to attach to the indexes. We then produced about 3 sets of the indexed for members to thumb through to find the materials they wanted. Everything was filed in the library by the distribution catalog numbers so once a patron found (or had the numbers from their lesson manuals) we could quickly retrieve their desired items.

As far as check-outs, we just had a clip board for the members to quickly jot down what they were taking with their name and phone number so we could collect if they forgot to bring the items back.

It worked well for us. I believe I still have electronic (spreadsheet) copies of our original indexes if anyone is interested.
kd5nrh
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#27

Post by kd5nrh »

RussellHltn wrote:I think we'd have to come up with a way to barcode items that don't have a UPC anyway. (Perhaps a poster that's been mounted, hiding it's UPC). I say use the UPC for initial inventory and then paste on a library unique barcode. That makes check in/out a breeze.

Take it a step further; use a QR code. Even a lot of the smartphones that can't close-up focus well enough to read barcodes will handle QRs just fine. Of course, it adds the need for a server app as well as (a pair of, for Android and iPhone) smartphone clients, but eliminates the need for someone to drag their laptop into the library every time. Smartphones are common enough now that you could probably request a donation of an old one with no service and just keep it in the library, using the building's wifi and have the server set up on one of the existing desktops elsewhere in the building.

As a bonus, once you have a smartphone app, you're on the way to having an app that could give limited access to all members to see what materials are available, and maybe add a reservation and request feature there as well.
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