1
Export
Get data out of the current system or spreadsheet — we’ll show you how.
Migration
Your history comes with you
Switching software is the biggest step a library can take, so ToyHive treats migration as a first-class feature: self-service imports from SeTLS and MiBase with a dry run you can inspect before anything goes live — and free guided migration for spreadsheets and other systems.
2
Review
See exactly what will import — every count, every exception, every balance that needs a decision — before you commit.
3
Review
Check members, toys, active loans, and exceptions together.
4
Go live
Pick the switch date and flip over with your history intact.
What comes across
- Members and household records
- Toy inventory and copy data
- Active loans for go-live accuracy
- Loan history and financial records where available
- Self-service SeTLS & MiBase imports; guided help for Lend Engine and spreadsheets
Early libraries don’t migrate alone
For the first libraries to switch, we work through the migration alongside you — export, dry run, review, and go-live. Your committee never has to guess whether the data made it.
Your toys arrive library-only
An import brings every toy across as your library’s own record, one per copy, exactly as your old system held it. Everything works on day one: lending, returns, holds, fees, piece lists, printed labels and your public catalogue. Nothing waits on a catalogue match.
Matching those records to the shared catalogue is optional and gradual — a handful at a time, in whatever order suits you. Where you do link a toy, every copy of it sits under one title with one hold queue and combined availability, and it picks up the description, photos and piece lists other libraries have already built. No rush — nothing is broken either way.
| Feature | Library-only | Shared catalogue |
|---|---|---|
| Lending, returns, holds and fees | Yes | Yes |
| Piece lists and missing-piece tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Your own photos and notes | Yes | Yes |
| Shows on your library’s public catalogue | Yes | Yes |
| Several copies under one title — one hold queue, combined availability | Not included | Yes |
| Description, photos and piece lists other libraries already wrote | Not included | Yes |
| Ratings pooled across libraries | Not included | Yes |
| Spare parts matched with other libraries | Not included | Yes |
| Listed in the ToyHive-wide catalogue | Not included | Yes |
Still deciding?
Honest comparisons against the systems most AU/NZ libraries run today — including where they are still ahead of us.