Systems help you track members and protect stock

Catalogue Systems for Toys and Members

Your toy library should use a system that:

• Accurately tracks members and borrowing history

• Records stock, loans, returns and overdue items, and assists to manage missing pieces.

• Protects member privacy

• Allows appropriate access based on role

Access should be limited to what each volunteer or staff member needs to perform their role.

Moving your toy library online 

Recommended online database platforms that have been designed for Australian toy libraries by people volunteering and working in active toy libraries.

• SeTLS 

• Mibase 

Both of these platforms have a Facebook discussion group for support, issues and ideas.   

• SeTLS 

• Mibase 

Toy libraries that are based within a larger organisation such as a book library may integrate into the existing system.

Whilst some small toy libraries maintain a paper-based system, the trend is towards digital online systems, as these allow volunteers to complete administration from home at times convenient to them.

Stocktake 

The decision to run an annual stocktake for your library depends on the level of confidence that you have in your processes and systems for checking and assessing toys when they are returned from loan throughout the year. 

If your system is robust, and your staff and volunteers routinely pull toys out of circulation to assess, repair, refresh and either return to shelf or retire and dispose of toys, then an annual stocktake is simply an exercise to see if any toys are missing from your collection. 

If you do not have a session-based assessment and maintenance process, then a stocktake may be beneficial as both a chance to evaluate your collection, but also spruce up less popular toys. 

Digital Systems to Manage your Operations

Document management and shared drives

Important documents (constitution, policies, financial reports, meeting minutes, grant applications, insurance certificates, risk registers, etc.) should be stored in a shared organisational system — not on a committee member’s personal laptop.

Many toy libraries use:

• Google Workspace

• for Nonprofits

• Microsoft 365 for Nonprofits

  
  

Both platforms offer free or heavily discounted organisational access for eligible not-for-profits and allow:

• Shared drives

• Organisational email accounts

• Controlled access permissions

• Cloud-based storage

• Version history and recovery

• Online meeting capability

Increasingly, access to discounts with major providers is being restricted to or validated by using an organisation's charity status. Check out our information in Quality Standard 2.1 on the benefits of registering as a charity with ACNC.

If your toy library has registered a domain name (e.g. wonderfultoylibrary.org.au, .com.au or .au), you can create role-based email addresses, such as: president@, treasurer@, secretary@, info@

Using role-based email addresses rather than personal emails:

• Ensures continuity year to year

• Preserves the history of the role

• Allows shared access where appropriate

• Reduces the risk of lost records when committee members change

• Promotes professionalism when dealing with members, funders, supporters and the wider community.

Risk to avoid: Files stored only on personal devices can be lost, deleted, or inaccessible if a volunteer steps down unexpectedly.

Managing shared inboxes

Shared email inboxes (e.g. info@) can improve professionalism and continuity, but they require clear processes.

Toy libraries should consider:

• Who monitors the inbox?

• Who responds?

• How are tasks allocated?

• How do you prevent emails being marked “read” and forgotten?

• How are handovers managed?

  
  

Simple systems such as:

• Allocating responsibility per session

• Using folders or labels

• Using task or flag functions

• Recording actions in meeting minutes

…can reduce missed communication.

Password management and access control

Toy libraries often have multiple logins, including:

• Member database (e.g. MiBase, SeTLs)

• Online banking

• TidyHQ / member portals

• Grant portals

• Social media accounts

• Website hosting

• Toy purchasing sites

  
  

It is no longer best practice that shared passwords be stored in shared spreadsheets, saved in individual profile password managers or written in notebooks.

Password managers such as:

• LastPass

• Bitwarden

• 1Password

• Microsoft Authenticator / Google Password Manager (where appropriate)

…allow secure, shared access while keeping passwords encrypted.

Good practice includes:

• Two-factor authentication enabled wherever possible

• Access granted based on role (not individual name)

• Immediate removal of access when someone leaves a role

• Regular review of who has access to what

Your AGM process should include reviewing and updating all digital access, as also noted in the Toy Library Committee Checklist.

Administrator and Super Administrator Access

Many digital platforms (Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, website hosting, domain providers, member databases, social media platforms) allow one or more users to be assigned administrator or super administrator access.

In large corporations, it is often considered best practice to restrict super administrator access to a single role to reduce security risk.

However, toy libraries operate differently. Because toy libraries are largely volunteer-run, there is a higher risk that a key volunteer may:

• Step down suddenly

• Become unavailable due to capacity, illness or family circumstances

• Leave without completing a full handover

• Retain control of accounts unintentionally

  
  

For this reason, best practice in a volunteer-led toy library is:

• Super administrator access should sit with more than one trusted role, typically members of the executive (e.g. President, Secretary, Treasurer).

• No single individual should have exclusive control over critical systems.

• Administrator access should be role-based (president@, secretary@), not tied to personal email accounts.

• Access should be reviewed and confirmed after every AGM.

  
  

This approach mirrors banking safeguards where multiple signatories are required.

Having at least two authorised administrators protects the toy library from:

• Loss of access to its own website or domain

• Being locked out of email systems

• Inability to reset passwords

• Critical disruption to operations

At the same time, access should remain controlled and documented. Administrator rights should only be given to trusted executive roles and reviewed annually.