Cataloguing In-House Makerspace Equipment for Usage Statistics

[Lindsay Shaw]

Hi everyone,

I've been approached by our Makerspace Facilitator to see if the equipment/resources used in the Makerspace Lab can be catalogued, as a mechanism for recording usage stats.  The idea is that we would create a brief record for all the machines/gadgets/etc., slap a barcode on them, then have staff check out/in the items to record usage.

Before we move any further, I'm curious to know how other libraries approach this.

Does your library catalogue/barcode non-circulating makerspace equipment at your library?  Or, do staff simply record the usage manually?  If you do the former, are items checked out to a dummy account (anonymous stats) or are they recorded as part of the patron's borrowing history?

Any other thoughts or feedback are welcome :)  Thanks!

Lindsay Shaw (she/her) Technical Services Coordinator New Tecumseth Public Library www.ntpl.ca   |   905-729-3726 x330

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[Diana H]

Hi Lindasy!

You can see our makerspace equipment records here:  Search | Hamilton Public Library | BiblioCommons

We do a very brief record for the equipment and have laminated cards with a description, photo of the equipment and barcode. Branches use the card with the barcode to CKO material to members when they are using the space, depending on what equipment they need. Everything is in-house use only and not holdable. We also use the material types to track replacement cost. 

Diana