Our session is going to be recorded.

 And the recording will be made available in the catalog later this evening or this afternoon.

 I will send you an email once the recording is posted.

 And I'll also automatically send you a certificate for attending today.

 I usually send those out a week after the session.

 And all of the learning at WebJunction and in our catalog is made available for free, thanks to the support of OCLC and state library agencies across the country.

 If you're not familiar with all that happens at WebJunction, subscribing to crossroads is an excellent way to stay up-to-date.

 We just sent out an edition today to folks' email inboxes.

 It comes twice a month.

 It will keep you up-to-date on all things WebJunction.

 There is a learner guide that we created for today's special.

 This is a resource for you to use, to extend your learning on the topic, to take next steps, to bring the discussion to your team or potential partners.

 This is a tool that can be customized.

 So know that if there are questions that aren't relevant to your work, you can take those out.

 And if there are specifics that you like to work through, you can make this guide work for you.

 So, note that that's also available on the event page as well.

 I'm so excited to introduce today's presenters.

 Dania Souid comes to us from the Baldwinsville Public Library in New York where she serves as Young Adult Services Librarian.

 And Lindsay Delaney comes to us from Oregon.

 She's a Freelance Librarian and has worked in libraries in Oregon.

 We're so excited to have both of you here.

 And very excited about today's topic.

 I'm going to go ahead and shift this over and have Dania get us started.

 Welcome, Dania.

 >> DANIA SOUID: Thank you.

 Okay.

 So, yes, my name is Dania.

 I'm the Young Adult Services Librarian in the Baldwinsville Public Library in upstate New York.

 So, today we're going to talk about starting a Library of Things.

 Things to consider and steps you should take if you're thinking of starting a Library of Things.

 We'll talk about selecting items, making a budget, creating MARC records.

 We'll talk about marketing and packaging the items.

 So, to get started, a brief history of our Library of Things.

 At Baldwinsville, we started in 2018, before I started working here.

 And we had these two kits.

 That Leap into Dirt comes with a flower pot, soil and seeds.

 Those are like a kilowatt and electricity monitor.

 They were circulating pretty well.

 When I started around 2020 to expand the Library of Things, the nice thing was we already had things in place.

 When things are getting returned.

 Who is checking to make sure all the items are included?

 We had a staff member who was retired who was kind of maintaining it somewhat.

 They were already popular.

 And we had room to expand.

 Now we have a dedicated innovation line, a specific budget for the Library of Things.

 And using that budget, we have expanded to this list of items that we have.

 So, when I started, we did a mixture of both.

 We have things like the projector there that comes with a white screen.

 So, that became real popular in, like, the summer of 2020.

 That can connect USB or via your computer to show movies, films, anything.

 Some singular items like that.

 And we also -- I made kits.

 If you're looking for like a kid-friendly camera kit, I suggest -- this is a Hugh document camera.

 It connects to the computer via USB.

 We have these little characters here.

 We've got a book about stop motion animation.

 I made a tutorial about how to use the video editing software inside the that kit.

 Various objects you can put together in one container.

 And circulate it as like one singular item with a purpose.

 So, when you're starting, you want to think about those two kinds of things.

 Do I want, really, a good mix of singular items and a kit of different things together.

 We'll go over a little bit more about some of the other stuff we have.

 But speaking of kits and singular items, this is another kit we have.

 It's a variety of percussion instruments.

 That also comes with books about how to play them.

 And with that kind of stuff in mind, when you're first thinking about starting your library of things, the key to start with is that it will require coordination from all departments.

 So, you want to talk especially to your circulation staff.

 Because they're going to be checking in and out the items.

 You want to talk with your processing department, cataloging.

 And we're kind of a small library.

 So, we don't have all those departments.

 But we have staff members who work in those fields.

 So, we talk and meet with them.

 Not just to -- you know, get their ideas.

 What do they know about the Library of Things?

 Do they have things in mind?

 But also start a foundation of how it's going to work as a system.

 Even though it's probably going to change once the items come in and you start using it, having a plan beforehand, no matter how detailed, is a great start.

 So, while meeting with staff, you also want to start researching what other libraries do, museums, some schools.

 And not just looking at the items they circulate.

 But how they're circulating them.

 So, when I started a vinyl collection here h I reached out to -- they sent me detailed information about how they send the vinyl records through delivery.

 We're a very friendly community.

 Reach out to different people in the field and ask them questions.

 Because they've already kind of figured it out.

 And so you can learn from what they're already doing.

 So in terms of selecting items, Lindsay is going to go over this in more detail.

 I'm just going to highlight some things that I have learned.

 If you're going to start from scratch, I would say start with two or three things to begin with.

 Maybe assemble one kit.

 Then have one or two singular items that you circulate.

 Start there.

 And build up over time.

 And, you know, there's questions you can ask.

 What's a popular collection we have?

 What item could coordinate with that collection?

 In the learner's guide, we made some examples of things that go together.

 But my top tip is if you're active on Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, you're probably seeing a lot of ads for different items.

 And your followers, your patrons are seeing those same ads.

 So, if you see something -- I see a lot for this little kit from Leap Planetarium that reflects on the ceiling.

 Take a look at it.

 Look into it.

 It might be something worth investing in.

 It's already like a great marketing.

 Your patrons have already probably seen it if you're seeing it in these ads.

 And it's a great way to show that the library is like new, current, and on top of things.

 And those items will basically promote themselves.

 You say you've been seeing this all over TikTok.

 You want to give it a try.

 Come to the library.

 We have it for you to check out.

 So, I always suggest that as like a good starting point.

 Or also if it's the holiday season, look at gift guides.

 What are people suggesting that you try and maybe give as a gift?

 That coming to the library, maybe they have.

 They can try it before they buy it.

 But the key one that I think sometimes is difficult with starting a Library of Things is budgeting.

 So, before you begin, I would suggest you have a specific number in mind.

 Whether it's its own collection or you're going to take it from another collection that you already have.

 And I would say if you have -- take 20% or so of that budget.

 And set it aside for maintenance, replacement parts, things that you're probably going to forget that turns out that maybe you needed.

 Because there's a lot more cost than you might think.

 There's the item itself.

 But there's also the cost of all the containers, and the outside packaging that you want to think of.

 For example, we circulate these Lego kits, the Mandolorian and the child.

 When you want specific pieces, I thought of these storage containers.

 I separated them out by character and then kind of by color.

 And in the supplemental material, there should be -- you'll see the document that I include in the kit as well that has pictures of each square and the Lego inside each square, and how many of them there are.

 So, even though it's a very specific kit with a lot of pieces, we've seen a lot of success.

 I mean, I haven't lost any pieces in the, you know -- over a dozen times that it has circulated.

 Because the tip I usually give is to break it down.

 And make it as easy to use as possible.

 So, you want -- you're going to have to budget for the containers.

 And you can print copies of what the kit looks like.

 And what it's supposed to look like when it's given to them.

 So when they open it, they see, okay, this is exactly what it looked like before I started using it.

 And I'm going to repackage it as best I can to make it look like that.

 And it's also easy for you when you're, like, checking and maintaining the collection.

 You don't have to reinvent the wheel every time.

 You know exactly what it's supposed to look like.

 So, you want to budget for the container, the outside packaging.

 I always suggest padded lunch boxes.

 They make great cases.

 They are padded and thick.

 They come in so many different sizes.

 They're going to come with a handle.

 They're going to come with a strap.

 So, always great to invest in that.

 And in terms of budgeting, again, not just the cost of the item.

 You want to invest early is usually what I suggest.

 So, we circulate a Go Pro.

 I purchased a case for it.

 I didn't purchase a specific screen protector for the touch screen.

 Of course, the touch screen got cracked.

 So, investing early as much protection for the items as you can is essential.

 Because now that the touch screen broke, we basically had to replace the whole Go Pro because that's a pretty essential part that no longer works.

 Even though it makes it bulkier a little bit.

 Now you have to buy a bigger case because it's in boxes.

 It's definitely worth it in the long run.

 And the last thing to consider in terms of budgeting is that it is going to be staff time.

 I maintain a few collections here at the library.

 But the Library of Things does take more time than, say, the Young Adult fiction collection.

 I usually check this collection at least every week.

 To see how things are going.

 Maybe things need to be wiped down.

 Maybe things need to be, like, relabeled.

 It does take time.

 And we'll talk later about how you could schedule it better into your -- all the other collections that maybe you maintain.

 But in terms of budgeting, that is something you need to consider.

 Especially if you're talking about part-time staff.

 So, after budgeting, we'll move to you purchased your item, let's say.

 You figured out the best storage containers for them.

 And you've got the outside packaging you want.

 And now you need to create the MARC record for it.

 I highly suggest creating a MARC record.

 And what I've learned in creating them for our Library of Things is you want to make it as easy to discover as possible.

 Especially if you're starting from scratch.

 Your patrons maybe aren't looking on the patron side of the catalog for your specific items.

 So, in terms of, like -- this is a little example of our Bluetooth turn table.

 We usually pull part of the product information to almost sell the item.

 Then we like to include how we think it could be used.

 So, for the record player, if you want to include -- playing some of your favorite classics, having a party at a birthday.

 Something like that.

 The most popular item we circulate are these Tonies boxes.

 It has stories and sounds it can play out loud through the speaker.

 Or you can plug in headphones.

 For those, to enhance the discoverability on the patrons' side of the catalog, we include what characters come with this Tonies box.

 There's a Rapunzel.

 Mention the fairy tales in there.

 If they're searching for Rapunzel or pin oakio, those keywords will come up for the Tonies box in the Library of Things.

 And in that description you want to include it's a Library of Things item.

 Maybe you want to do a price breakdown.

 So they know it's a little more expensive.

 The more information, the better.

 And then in terms of over long term, if you're going to have several item, I suggest having a specific Library of Things collection code.

 Have a specific shelf location.

 Include Library of Things in the column number.

 In general, those things that you would do for your other collections to maintain consistency.

 And show it's a cohesive collection.

 You want that for the Library of Things as well.

 And if you look also in our supplemental material, you'll get more information about using a variety of subject terms.

 Like we have here for the turntable.

 To make it clear that it's audio-visual equipment, music, et cetera.

 And the same thing with genre terms.

 You want diversity in those as well to enhance discoverability.

 So, speaking of discoverability, you have your MARC record created.

 You have the outside, packaging and all that stuff sorted together.

 We'll move to the next important section, which is labeling.

 Of course, you want to label all the items inside the kit.

 Even if you have to put your -- we'll put BPL for Baldwinsville Public Library.

 We write that in sharpie with the SD card that goes with the Go Pro.

 As much as possible to label everything.

 And then my biggest suggestion is to think of it -- especially with step four, you're going to put them on display.

 I suggest if you have places where your patrons are waiting.

 Near the circulation desk, reference desk.

 They're standing, waiting, looking around.

 If you make the outside of the items also look very intriguing and enticing.

 Yeah, we use lunch bags.

 But maybe we've got pictures of the items outside of it.

 I always attach a label to the front that, like, well designed that has the name of the kit on one side.

 And on the back side, it has the price breakdown of all the items in the kit labeled and the cost per item.

 That also makes it easier for circ staff.

 They can hold the tag in one hand and make sure all six of the items are in there.

 It looks very pretty.

 You want to also -- you're going to put things on display.

 You're going to make a nice display.

 Make it look enticing from the outside.

 Have it properly and beautifully labeled.

 And then put it on -- as much as you can on display.

 I know kind of a hinderance for starting a Library of Things sometimes is physical space.

 You'll see pretty early on, you don't need as much space as you think.

 Because they're probably going to be checked out all the time.

 We have one cabinet.

 The cabinet, oftentimes, is almost empty.

 Because the things are checked out and circulating.

 And for marketing, I can say as someone who -- I used to be a news reporter.

 So I can tell you that this is a great story.

 So, if you're starting a Library of Thing, reach out to your local news.

 Whether it's like the broadcast network or the paper.

 Reach out to someone there.

 And tell them you're starting this new thing.

 They're definitely going to want to do a story about it.

 Other marketing ideas, if you've got a rotating arc display at your library, maybe dedicate a month to display these things.

 You could display the creations you made using items in the Library of Things.

 Maybe a program.

 Get some teens to do a program, to make a video using the Go Pro.

 Set up on a laptop and have it constantly playing near the circulation desk as a way to promote the item.

 Adding your Library of Things items to programming is another great marketing tool.

 Maybe you want to do a metal detector.

 And in the summer you do some kind of treasure hunting program where you incorporate using that metal detector.

 You could use the Tonies box to listen to music during a storytime.

 The same way that you would incorporate other aspects of your collections, like picture books, during your programming.

 You can do the same thing for the Library of Things.

 That's a great way to market and show your patrons that you started this new collection.

 So, what we're currently -- what I'm currently working on is the waivers.

 So, we used to have a waiver per item.

 And then we would make a note on the patron's account that they signed the waiver.

 And it became a lot to manage.

 And understandably, staff may forget.

 Or they would sign the waiver, but not make a note in the account.

 It was hard to keep track of everything.

 So, we're moving to a -- we're moving to one standard waiver for everything.

 And we'll have them sign that.

 Despite one standard waiver, you'll see this also in the supplemental material.

 You want to still make a personalized one per item to include inside of the kit.

 So, here is a breakdown of the Go Pro.

 And the cost of each item.

 And the loan agreement, even though it's basically the same per item, it is personalized for the Go Pro.

 We laminate a copy of that.

 We include it in the kit.

 We tell patrons when they're checking it out that this is included in the kit.

 So that they know what they're getting into, what's included in it, what they might be charged for the cost of things.

 You don't need to remind, I don't think, patrons that much that they're going to be responsible for the cost of the items.

 Since they're using the library anyway.

 They do know if they damaged a book, we might charge them.

 Some libraries are charging overdue fees.

 Instead of that, I like to prioritize and make it clear about the cost of each item.

 That's why it's in here on the waiver.

 It's also on the back of the label outside of the kit.

 Anything like that, to make it clear.

 So, that's what we're moving towards, one standard waiver.

 And then just personalized ones inside each kit.

 So, this is my little photo that's showing the other side of the tag that has the price breakdown.

 That's also where I put the bar codes.

 So after maybe the first three, four months that you started the Library of Things with your few items, you'll want to think about assessment questions to think, is this a successful collection?

 What do we want to change?

 What do we want to improve?

 Of course, you can look at circulation numbers.

 With early days, I wouldn't say that's the key assessment tool.

 Patron feedback is always a great one.

 Maybe you can work with circulation staff.

 Or if you're a librarian, spend time at the circulation desk to get feedback directly from patrons.

 Ask them questions.

 How did they use the item?

 Did they like using it?

 What else would they like to see?

 Just basic conversational questions.

 But observing it also in terms of how easy was it when it was returned to when it was available to be checked out again?

 That's a pretty big assessment feature that you want to take a look at.

 Is it the turnaround quick?

 Is it just looking in, making sure everything is working?

 Or is it, like, the Go Pro?

 Do you want to check to see if the previous person delivered everything?

 Or is it written inside the kit that it's their responsibility?

 So you're not going to check.

 Because you told them it was their responsibility?

 Those are things you want to check if you're going to expand.

 You may decide that a specific item is better suited for in-library use.

 That doesn't mean that your Library of Things needs to go away.

 You can get rid of items, repurpose items.

 Maybe repackage items to make them easier to use.

 But that doesn't mean that you have to get rid of your Library of Things in general.

 It's a lot of trial and error.

 Over time, we'll see what works better and what needs to be done differently.

 And on that note, when thinking about expanding -- so, after, I would say, you start with two or three items the first few months.

 And you want to expand out.

 The process of creating a schedule is pretty important.

 So, you want a schedule time, once a week, once every two weeks, just depends on your time, to maintain the collection.

 Take a look and see what's in.

 What are those pieces looking like?

 Placing holds for items when they are checked out so when they are checked in, you can look at them and make sure everything is good.

 Some items will constantly be checked out.

 You want to make sure you can grab them between patron use.

 Instead of buying a bunch of new things, maybe duplicates of items are really good.

 We have a bunch of these Tonies boxes.

 They're always checked out.

 They're a great investment.

 They're not that expensive.

 They're so durable.

 Investing in duplicates, make backups.

 And we talked before about creating a designated space for them.

 Especially since you have that specific collection code.

 You have that call number of the Library of Things.

 Having them in one place as much as possible is good.

 And for people to go look at them and see what's in currently and what's available.

 And after a couple of months, if you're seeing a lot of success, maybe reaching out to the other libraries in your system.

 And seeing if they want to collaborate on a Library of Things.

 Maybe you focus on a children's Library of Things.

 Maybe they have a different collection.

 And coordinating together to maintain one overall county-wide collection might be very useful.

 You can, of course, offer them advice of things you've learned and what you have done.

 So that's all I have for now.

 Lindsay is going to talk in more detail about the selection process in terms of items, and the best practices for that.

 >> Jennifer Peterson:  Excellent.

 I think we'll pause just briefly to get some of the questions that have come through answered from you, knowing that Lindsay can also mention if she has suggestions.

 There, of course, are some of the in the weeds questions that we know come up for folks.

 Especially for folks that maybe are further along in the process.

 Really quick one question was around, did you have to run the agreement, your waiver through legal?

 >> DANIA SOUID: I did not.

 The waiver that we used came with the Chromebooks that we circulate, which are county-wide.

 Ayadityed the one that the county provided for us.

 >> Jennifer Peterson:  Excellent.

 There are some questions around bar codes and RFID tags.

 And do you put it on the container, on the item?

 Can you talk a little bit about how you cover decisions around that?

 >> DANIA SOUID: We don't use the RFID tags.

 But we do have the bar code.

 I just keep the bar code -- I use plastic sleeves on the outside for those tags.

 I attach the bar code to the sheet of paper in the tag and slide it within the plastic protective sleeve.

 And inside each thing is labeled usually with the sticker that has the library name, address and phone number on it.

 >> Jennifer Peterson:  Okay.

 There's lots of great discussion on different means of displaying folks that are using picture hang tags that have items that the patron brings to the counter.

 Somebody said they have a three-ring binder with pictures and descriptions of everything.

 So, lots of great ideas.

 I encourage folks to peruse chat.

 We'll post chat as a resource.

 So you can go back and look at that as well.

 But, obviously, lots of great, different strategies for addressing space and then the labeling as well.

 There was one other question.

 When you were talking a little bit about the instructions that you have with the Lego kits, generally do you have to do a lot of instructions with things?

 Like, do you include instructions with the kits?

 I mean, how much of that instruction piece did you have to create?

 >> DANIA SOUID: Sure.

 I found out that, really, the more instruction in terms of -- depends.

 Instructions in terms of packaging, we kind of focus more on the expensive items.

 So, maybe the Go Pro has picture-by-picture of what should be included with it.

 It also includes spare batteries.

 You need to know, there is a card in there.

 There's also a spare SD card.

 And with the Lego kits, it's like the graphic, picture-by-picture of what piece looks like and how many of each.

 But what I think is really -- what I learned from getting phone calls from patrons -- because it's my contact information in the kit.

 A tutorial of how to get started with it.

 A lot of things, even when I purchased the items, don't come with a manual really anymore.

 So usually I do like a screen record of my laptop of me doing -- editing the video for the Hugh camera.

 Just like a Go Pro, downloading the software.

 Doing basic things.

 Like an event I download as a video and include as a USB inside of the kit.

 >> Jennifer Peterson:  That's great.

 Excellent.

 Okay.

 Why don't we continue on?

 Keep your questions coming.

 And thank you so much for being so great about sharing your own suggestions.

 This is really why we like to have chat available in our sessions.

 So, keep posting.

 And we'll go ahead and welcome Lindsay.

 And thank you so much for being here.

 And thank you, Dania, so much.

 >> LINDSAY DELANEY: Hi.

 Yeah.

 Thank you again for having me.

 I'm excited to share about how to create a children's Library of Things collection with you all.

 After my portion of the presentation, you'll be able to describe reasons for incorporating children's materials in the Library of Things.

 You'll be able to identify sources of inspiration for your collection.

 And you'll be able to apply the ideas of category, practicality, and priorities to the selection of children's Library of Things materials.

 I began working with Library of Things back in twrch at the Ann arbor district library.

 There I worked on circulation and reference desk.

 And provided help to the public as they access the large Library of Things collection.

 I also help catalog art prints there.

 Then in early 2020, I was invited to help create the children's Library of Things collection at the Tigard Public Library in Oregon.

 And I worked on that collection until February 2022.

 I'm parent to a toddler, a freelance librarian, and I write about youth services on my blog, including a little bit about this Library of Things collection.

 Back to early 2020, the selection at the Tigard Public Library was that everybody was excited about starting a Library of Things collection.

 From city leadership to library leadership, to managers, and staff, and the public.

 We have a strong focus on environmental sustainability in the city of Tigard.

 So, the idea of being able to share resources, to try things out before you buy was hugely appealing to everybody.

 But that doesn't exactly answer why you should include children's material specifically in your Library of Things.

 If you already have kid's materials in your Library of Things, just listen to this to see how you might explain this to somebody else why you do.

 And if you have a children's materials of Library of Things.

 If not, think about how you make the case for having a children's materials in the Library of Things.

 This is my son, Owen, playing with a ball drop from the Tigard Library Library of Things.

 Is something still there if I can't see it?

 Is it behind the door?

 This toy was also designed to be super accessible to him.

 So, the ball was large enough to be a safe size.

 The handle on the door was the right size for his hands.

 And the hinge wasn't too stiff.

 Kids deserve materials that are relevant to their interests and designed to be accessible to them.

 Their needs are different than adults.

 Think about kids learning to read, figuring out how to take turns in a game.

 Or beginning to put steps in order on their way to learning algorithms and robotics.

 The objects that they will interact with to serve those interests are going to look different than the objects used for adult hobbies.

 I would also absolutely consider your vision and mission of your library as well.

 At Tigard, the mission includes meeting residents' informational, cultural, educational, and recreational needs.

 So, just like book, audio books, films and music can do that for kids.

 So can other objects.

 A board game can provide a fun social interaction for a family and fulfill a recreational need.

 And a dinosaur fossil model can help a kid understand dinosaurs in a new way.

 And fill an educational and informational interest.

 Finally, kids' Library of Things materials are just really, really popular.

 They're fun.

 And we had the advantage, when we started our collection at Tigard, that many other local libraries already had Library of Things.

 Library and city leadership had already seen the collections for themselves.

 If that hadn't been the case, I absolutely would have suggested that we go tour another library.

 If you don't have one nearby that has a Library of Things, there are plenty of libraries that have gone on their local news to talk about Library of Things.

 We've included the links on the page to interview so you can have access to that resource as well.

 Now let's head back to Tigard.

 We started working on the collection.

 We gathered as a group of selectors circulation staff and technical services staff to just scope out our new Library of Things.

 In this chart, I show how Library of Things can be the next step of nonbook items in a library.

 For example, within the children's collection, we already had media in different forms.

 And even circulating puppets.

 So, I was excited to add new children's items.

 But I was also pretty sure that we weren't going to include everything that might be in the children's sharing economy.

 And some examples are kind of that far side of the sharing economy are in the gray bubbles.

 Such as party rentals, medical equipment rentals, buy nothing groups, swap events.

 And those are all great ways that the community shares items.

 But that doesn't mean that's what the library needs to do as they extend their collection.

 In our meeting, we decided that we were going to focus on low-mess items without any consumable parts.

 Under $150 in value that were generally safe.

 And those decisions were written into our collection plan.

 My first selection of items was about $1,000.

 In general, I looked for items between $50 and $100 in value.

 The technical services budget covered packaging separately.

 And it turned out that actually people and space were more of our limitations rather than money.

 We discovered that selecting packaging, labeling and processing the items to go out, and even the space to hold items in process was a bit of a limitation.

 So, I shared some of the big picture process of getting started with our children's Library of Things, how it got up and running.

 How we had support, scoping it, and our logistics around budget.

 Now it's time to jump into the particular decisions.

 Which was how did I pick out what to buy?

 Over my two years of selecting for the collection, I found I really considered three aspects in my decisions.

 The categories I wanted to include.

 How practical the item was for library circulation.

 And whether it served my priorities for the collection as a whole.

 Categories, first with the genre of items.

 For example, musical instruments would be one of those categories.

 For practicality, I asked myself, is this item robust?

 Would it be sturdy to circulate?

 And if it has multiple pieces, would it still work if one of those pieces went missing?

 I also considered if the item was self-contained.

 Did it have everything it needed to be used by itself?

 Finally, because we were using our existing library catalog, I wanted to make sure that the items I bought weren't date specific.

 By this, I mean in our catalog, people could place holds on items that were checked out.

 But we can't guarantor we couldn't guarantee when those items would be returned and fulfill the hold.

 That means that items that could be fun whenever they were received, like a board game, were more practical than items for a particular holiday or event.

 I then also considered my priorities for the collection as a whole.

 I determined that my priorities for the collection were that it would be multi-lingual, specifically Spanish and English.

 Inclusive, environmentally friendly, and contain items with accessible design.

 Now, I want to be clear.

 It can be really hard to find items that are very practical and serve multiple priorities at once.

 So, I mostly tried to avoid having items that were both low on the practicality scale and also didn't serve any priorities.

 And I sometimes picked items that exhibited one characteristic more than the other.

 For example, this minerals and fossils acrylic block filled my need for wanting to develop a collection of science models.

 However, you could only really use it with one sense, right?

 By looking at it.

 And it didn't include kind of context.

 Like the human or cultural context that might be more inclusive.

 But it was so sturdy.

 It was widely durable and very practical for circulation.

 Because I knew I wanted science models, it was a good fit for the collection.

 Exhibiting kind of the other characteristic, we had a set of storytelling kits.

 But they were all by one author.

 So, I knew I wanted to expand that to serve my goals of having a diverse collection.

 And one that included multi-lingual materials.

 So, I suggested the Marisol McDonald Doesn't Match Storytelling Kit.

 Even though it's made out of fabric and the library doesn't have a washing machine on site.

 It's less practical and durable.

 However, it served those priorities for the collection.

 That it was multi-lingual.

 It helped to build a diverse collection.

 So it also fit in our Library of Things.

 I want to emphasize that categories and elements of practicality will be specific to each library.

 You want to consider what works for you.

 Let's talk about how you might figure out what categories of children's materials would fit for your library.

 I started with the Tigard Library's mission, which had the goal of serving informational, cultural, educational and recreational needs.

 I then considered sources of inspiration, including children's museums, science museums, schools, popular topics at the library.

 Library programs, toy libraries and other Library of Things collections.

 And after reviewing all those sources, I settled into the categories of early literacy activities, board games, construction activities, robots, scientific models, toys, and musical instruments.

 Okay.

 Now we're going to apply category practicality and priorities to three actual Library of Things items.

 These are all items I selected for the Tigard Public Library children's collection.

 For this activity, we're going to do a cascade of responses.

 What that means, I'm going to give instructions.

 You're going to type your responses in the chat.

 Wait.

 Don't hit enter until I tell you.

 That way they all pour out at once.

 Okay.

 So first, choose one of the three items on the slide.

 Any of the three.

 And then write out what category do you think it fits in?

 What elements of practicality does it exhibit?

 You can use the information that you can tell from the picture.

 Though if you want to Google it, that's okay, too.

 And finally, what priorities might it serve in the collection?

 Best guess is fine.

 I'll set a timer for one minute to type out your response.

 Then I'll tell you when it's time to hit enter.

 Go ahead.

 Pick one of those three items, the Loteria: Cuerpo Meumo, the Blipbl, x Toy Synthesizer, the Green Toys Fire Truck.

 Super quick activity.

 And then I will tell you when it's time to hit enter on your response.

 I think you're hitting enter to fit all the information in your response.

 And you're like, oh, no, my response went through.

 But I will let you know when to send your response in.

 Okay.

 There it is.

 If you haven't hit enter already, send in what you decided.

 And Jennifer's going to help me out by looking for one of each type once this cascade has come to an end in sharing a response for one of each of the objects.

 >> Jennifer Peterson:  Yeah.

 There's a lot for sure.

 Let's see.

 For the Loteria, let's see.

 We have early literacy.

 Not date specific.

 Self-contained.

 Multi-lingual.

 And inclusive.

 >> LINDSAY DELANEY: Uh-huh.

 >> Jennifer Peterson:  Let's see here.

 For Fire Truck, Green Toys Fire Truck, toys, self-contained.

 Not date specific.

 Robust.

 And inclusive.

 >> LINDSAY DELANEY: Uh-huh.

 >> Jennifer Peterson:  And for the Blipblox Toy Synthesizer, let's see here.

 Let's see.

 Toy.

 Go ahead.

 >> LINDSAY DELANEY: I found one here.

 It might be the same.

 I see toy, musical instrument, kind of -- yep, both of those.

 It's self-contained.

 And it has an accessible design.

 Absolutely.

 So you can see those are three characteristics I thought about separately.

 As a whole when I was deciding what I want to add to the collection.

 One thing I want to shout out the Green Toys, if you're not familiar with them, are made out of recycled plastic.

 So they're also environmentally friendly.

 Which is cool.

 We have talked about how categories are going to be based on your library mission and sources of information.

 Even though those are going to look different for each of us and the libraries we're at, I want to highlight a few places you might shop for kids' Library of Things items.

 While I'm going over these, feel free to shout out any of your favorite places to shop for kids' Library of Things in the chat.

 So we can all learn from each other.

 I found educational retailers were great.

 The items they make are meant to be sturdy enough for classrooms.

 They're really durable.

 I also found large online retailers were especially good for finding specific accessories that we might need to round something out to circulate.

 Local toy, music, and board game stores are absolute gems.

 I loved working with Versus Board Games in Tigard, Oregon.

 I was able to send them an email with what I needed for the collection.

 I needed board games, especially for younger kids, and ones that would work if a card or piece went missing.

 And they sent me back an email super quickly with the long list of games that might fit the collection.

 Then I was able to review those.

 Truly, they're kind of the experts in board game players advisory.

 See what I did there?

 Keep in mind based on your priority, you may need to seek out specialty sellers.

 In our case since we wanted to have a multi-lingual collection, I needed to speak out board games that were in Spanish and English.

 So, I found Lelu.

 That's where that Loteria came from.

 At the time, their games weren't available for major retailers.

 So you might have to do a little bit of searching to round out your collection.

 And, finally, if you work with a book vendor, take a peek.

 See if they sell any sideline, like, gifts or toys, items that might be meant mostly for book stores.

 But if you looked through, you might find that there's something that you already wanted for the collection.

 In our case, we were able to get the Green Toys Trucks at a discount through our book vendor.

 Now even though picking out items is my favorite part, it's by no means the last part of circulating children's materials.

 So, for getting them ready and on the shelf, they were cataloged by technical services.

 All of our items are for local pickup only.

 We included bilingual descriptions and access points in the records when relevant.

 We also used photos in our catalog when possible.

 For packaging, we focused on transparent or original packaging.

 Which is just that much more appealing.

 And then a label that had the bar code, RFID tag, item name, and contents.

 All of the components were also labeled with library initials.

 That seems to be a common practice across libraries here.

 Occasionally I had to create supporting materials.

 Like a photo guide for the replica dinosaur teeth so people would know which tooth was which.

 Once all those steps were complete, I reviewed the items, checked them in, filled in the hold and placed them on the shelf.

 Now I can brag about a few wins in our community.

 These are items that resonated with our community and circulated really well.

 First, I want to talk about how we included dinosaur fossils and skull replicas in our collection.

 That's, in part, because kids' dinosaur books circulated really, really well.

 Also, because the library is adjacent to a wetlands known for having coyotes, Beavers and more.

 If I remember correctly, the story is specifically about the coyote skull.

 One of our young community members checked it out and learned all about the species.

 And they were so enthralled by the skull and everything they had learned that they insisted that it be the centerpiece of their family Thanksgiving.

 I love that it inspired them.

 We also included ozobots.

 The public school is adjacent to the library.

 And also part of one of the event or programming kits are available to use for events.

 One day, it's sitting on the shelf.

 Two kids come in.

 They just light up.

 They recognize it from school.

 They think it's so cool it's on the shelf.

 They pull their parents over.

 This is what we use at school all the time.

 It's so cool.

 Let me show you how it works.

 It was a beautiful moment of connection between the two kids.

 As they were able to share in a common interest as they recognized the ozobot.

 I love that it extended the school learning, and helped connect them with parents.

 And it was also an opportunity for them to engage with each other.

 The other win that I want to share is our storytelling kits.

 I created bilingual storytelling kits.

 Each of them contained an English and Spanish or bilingual edition of an Eric Carle book as well as one of the magnetile structure kits that were Eric Carle themed.

 I knew that magnetiles would be durable for circulating.

 We had them out in the children's room for years.

 It was really exciting to see that this particular combination resonated with families.

 They checked it out a lot.

 I hope that it helped them extend their storytelling.

 They could both read the book and then re-enact the stories together.

 Not every item for the Library of Things is going to be a win from the get-go.

 I'll identify a few moment where is we had some friction and what we learned from it.

 In one case, I ordered some replica, like -- they were like globes, but of different planets in the solar system.

 But we kind of struggled to figure out what to pack them in because of their unusual shape.

 We considered mesh bags.

 I was nervous they wouldn't be durable enough for circulation because of, like, the stand that went with them.

 We ended up with these dark, opaque bags.

 So, you had no idea what was in them.

 They were just a big, lumpy bag with a written tag.

 Not every kid who uses the Library of Things is reading yet.

 So they don't know what it is.

 I tried making it better with a photo with a tag on the outside.

 I'm just going to recognize that items that can be seen can be more appealing.

 And perhaps this one is going to have to be repackaged in order to continue to circulate well.

 In some case, we bought things that we thought might be sturdy enough for circulation.

 And they just weren't.

 This happened with a couple of models of our robots.

 I have to say it wasn't just bad luck.

 Like these robots, none of them are available for purchase anymore.

 So, I think it wasn't just us.

 They were breaking for everybody.

 So that's why I'm not going to mention which ones they are specifically, because you can't get them.

 And it's just fine to know that not every item is robust for long-term circulation.

 You can pick back up, make a new decision about what you want to buy for your collection and what your priorities are.

 Finally, we tried to work around items that required batteries by including rechargeable batteries and battery chargers with the thought that this would sort of reduce the amount of consumable parts.

 Because they wouldn't have to be replaced quite as often, and serve our goals of environmental sustainability.

 However, it seemed like batteries and their chargers were the part that went missing the most often.

 In my case, what that meant is I started focusing on items that didn't require power at all.

 Or items that came with a dedicated charger.

 Because those seem to go miss hadding less often.

 However, I want to note that what's practical depends on the time you have to dedicate to a collection maintenance.

 It's a totally okay if things go missing in a library and you have to order replacements.

 It's what we do.

 Especially in children's collections, right?

 Books need to be replaced all the time.

 However, it's more about how much time you have to dedicate to the collection.

 When we started the children's Library of Things, I still kept all my other responsibilities.

 As we were building the collection larger and larger, I wanted to keep a tight focus on how much time any individual object could require.

 So we could keep that collection, like, load manageable going forward.

 And that segues into mentioning a bit about collection maintenance.

 We divided responsibilities.

 I, as the selector, was responsible for item repair and selecting replacements.

 And technical services did any of the packaging repair and they updated our records for us.

 I practically left some of my budget unspent for replacement items and parts.

 And that helped as we continued to work on the collection.

 To wrap things up, I want to highlight display and marketing.

 This small area of shelving near the entrance to the children's room has done the most marketing for this children's collection.

 It's been all the children's Library of Things needs.

 Families see it, brows, and try something new.

 Since most of the collection is checked out at any given time, we don't need more space.

 There were over 100 items in the collection at the time that I left.

 That said, we did work with our publicity coordinator to create social media post, communicate through the library newsletter.

 And we partnered with the city's graphic design team to create this poster we put on the bulletin board.

 Overall, the Tigard Public Library collection for kids has been really well received.

 It's popular, functional, and has lots of room to grow.

 Having a kid-specific collection helps the library to be relevant and accessible to families.

 And by drawing on our mission, I had a direction of what in the big world of things to include.

 And by considering categories, practicality and priorities, I felt confident in my selection decisions.

 And I hope that you, too, now feel more confident in the next step for your children's Library of Things.

 Thanks.

 >> Jennifer Peterson:  Fantastic.

 Thank you, Lindsay.

 There are a few questions.

 We have some time.

 Folks are ready to dive in.

 Plenty of folks in the session are already doing things and answering questions that other folks have.

 There was a question for both of you, actually, around how -- kind of getting into the flow of who's responsible in terms of checking returns, cleaning returns.

 If it needs cleaning.

 Can you talk a little bit about that in your situation, how that's managed?

 I'll start with Dania.

 >> DANIA SOUID: Sure.

 So, in our case, when something is returned, the circulation staff open it to -- sorry.

 To make sure that all the things are included.

 And if anything is missing or if anything looks a little bit off, then they just give it to me.

 And I take care of it from there.

 Our collection is a little bit smaller.

 It can be managed more or less by me.

 I mean, it's a lot of work on me.

 But for now, it's just me.

 If something looks a little bit broken or is missing, then I'm the one who takes the lead and contacts the patron usually.

 But for the most part, if anything is damaged, they tell us right away when they return it.

 It doesn't usually get returned damaged.

 And if something is missing, they can usually find it and bring it back to me.

 >> Jennifer Peterson:  Okay.

 How about Lindsay, from your experience?

 Some of the other questions, too, are folks charged overdue fees if there's damages?

 How do you address damages?

 So, any of those pieces that you might be familiar with.

 >> LINDSAY DELANEY: Yeah.

 Our library is fine free.

 The Tigard library went fine free.

 All the libraries in the county did.

 That relieves the pressure for late items.

 Our goal was to provide expansive a collection to access as we can.

 Circulation staff have quite a bit of autonomy -- of opings to make things work for families.

 So we didn't have to be super nitpicky.

 That said, when items are returned we found people are super helpful.

 They were quick to tell us if something wasn't working as it was supposed to.

 Or if something was missing.

 Our catalog keeps both the current person with the item checked out and the past.

 A quick email or message to the previous person often can resolve what it had gone missing.

 That said, the labels had the components.

 And that was sort of our guide for circulation to quickly check them as they were returned.

 And that might look like saying a bag of tokens.

 So we weren't expecting that circulation count every single one.

 But making sure that bag is present.

 They'll have the label and list of components sort of guided that process.

 As I mentioned, if they looked at it and was like, ooh, this packaging -- the label is pulling off.

 They knew it had to go to repair.

 Or if they said this part is admission or it doesn't work, they bring it to my desk.

 I troubleshoot and get a replacement or see if we can get it working again.

 Jennifer, I think you're muted.

 >> Jennifer Peterson:  Yes, thank you.

 Sorry.

 I also noted that I is saw suggestions for -- somebody said that they have a neon sign on their items that ask people to clean them before they return.

 So, obviously, there's messaging you can try to add there to have folks clean.

 Just before we wrap up, I sort of feel like the -- kind of the questions around -- there's so many interesting detailed questions around managing stuff.

 But just to wrap up, kind of some thoughts in terms of decisions about -- for those that are getting started.

 I really think it's helpful, Lindsay, to have your example for those that are looking at starting a children's Library of Things, that's a great way to start.

 I saw lots of conversation about cake pans.

 Circulating cake pans was sort of the initial Library of Things.

 I've heard people say we've had to cut back on our cake pan collection, because they take up so much space.

 Obviously, both of you have talked about the evolving nature of the Library of Things and what you've learned along the way.

 I would just love for you to maybe wrap up with some final thoughts for folks just getting started, knowing some folks are a little further along in the process.

 But let's just hear your final thoughts before we wrap up.

 We'll start with Dania.

 >> DANIA SOUID: Sure.

 I would say my big tip is to start small.

 And, you know, like the cake pans, those are big popular ones.

 I saw a lot of people talk about steam kits.

 If you're going to start, something moraling the line of steam kits is a little more interesting.

 Something a little new and up-to-date are central library for the county circulates steam kits to staff to use for programming.

 And they're a real hit or miss.

 If you're thinking of starting a steam kit, I would say that's going to require more research than maybe you would initial think.

 Because it's easy to go with things that sound really cool.

 Like this robot is really popular.

 We'll get that.

 They got a Bloxil kit for staff to use in programming.

 But they didn't take into account, a lot of these, you have to set up an account.

 You have to have a credit card linked to the account.

 If you set up an account and add the serial number to it, the next library can't use it for their programming.

 Because it's hooked up to your account.

 If you're going to talk about shared devices and shared equipment, you have to do research into, like, it's not just a cool item that people would want to use.

 But it's an item that has to be reused constantly by different people.

 So, some of our steam kits come with, like, a little bits.

 But not the parts to do anything with the little bits.

 So it just makes a weird siren sound.

 But not the part to make the guitar bit.

 So you have to follow through and keep an eye on that.

 A bunch of people are going to use it.

 It has to be easy and accessible for those people to use as well.

 >> Jennifer Peterson:  Excellent.

 I know we're past the top of the hour.

 I want to mention, too, there's a Facebook group.

 I didn't create it.

 We didn't create it.

 We're all members of it.

 And have found each other there.

 A great place to carry on the conversation.

 Lots of people that are sharing ideas, you know, things around their forms and things, the waivers as well.

 Keep that in mind as another place.

 Thank you, both, so much for all your amazing work on the webinar.

 And the work you continue to do.

 I thank all of you who attended today.

 We'll be sending you an email later today once the recording is posted.

 I'll also automatically send you a certificate for attending later on this week or early next week.

 And I'm going to send you to a short survey as you leave today.

 We would love to get your feedback on today's session.

 We'll share that with our presenters.

 And it helps guide our ongoing programming.

 Thank you so much.

 Thank you, all.

 Thanks to our captioner.

 Everyone have a great rest of your week.