Lending Library
By Trio Team · Updated
The Lending Library tracks the physical things your studio lends to students - method books, rhythm cards, music stands, games. It answers two questions at a glance: who has what, and since when.
Find it under Lending Library in the sidebar. The page header reads Lending Library with the subtitle "Track items borrowed to students", and a Check out button sits in the top right. Two tabs organize everything: Loans, which opens by default, and Items.
The Lending Library is available on every plan. Owners, admins and teachers can add items and record check-outs and check-ins; staff can see who has what but cannot change it. It is a teacher-portal tool - families do not see it in their portal.
Not to be confused with the Composition Library, which holds sheet music and repertoire rather than physical items.
Managing Items and Quantities
The Items tab is your catalog. Click Add item and fill in:
- Name - what you call it, for example "Suzuki Book 1"
- Notes - optional, such as where the item is kept
- Quantity - how many copies the studio owns, at least 1
The list shows Name, Notes, Quantity and Available. Availability reads as "X of Y" - copies still on the shelf out of the total you own - and Trio recalculates it whenever something goes out or comes back. Use the pencil icon to edit an item and the trash icon to remove one.
You cannot delete an item while copies are still out. Trio replaces the confirmation with Can't delete {item}, says how many copies are checked out, and offers Edit quantity as the next step - useful when a copy is lost for good and the studio simply owns fewer now. Otherwise, check the copies in first. Quantity can never be set below the number currently checked out.
Checking an Item Out
Click Check out, then:
- Choose the Student.
- Pick the Item. Each row shows its availability, such as "2 of 3 available".
- Confirm the Date out, which defaults to today. Change it if the item actually left earlier.
- Click Check out.
If the item is not in your catalog yet, you do not have to stop and create it first. Click Add a new item at the bottom of the item list, type a name, and click Add. Trio creates it with a quantity of 1, selects it, and you finish the check-out in the same step.
Availability and Unavailable Items
When every copy of an item is out, its availability reads "0 of 2" and the check-out form labels it Unavailable and will not let you select it. If the studio really does own more copies than the catalog says, edit the item and raise its quantity - the extra copies become available immediately.
Checking an Item In
On the Loans tab, click Check in on the loan's row. Trio asks Check in {item}? and shows a Date in that defaults to today - adjust it if the item came back earlier. A return date can never be before the check-out date. Confirm, and the copy goes back on the shelf.
The Out now filter shows only what is still out, with a running count beside it. Switch to All to see returned loans as well, with a Date in column; open loans stay at the top of the list.
The 21-Day Warning
Every loan shows how long it has been out. That figure stays quiet, muted text at first. Once an open loan has been out for 21 days or more, it becomes a warning badge with an alert icon, so the loans you have lost track of stand out without any digging.
Items Out on a Student's Profile
You do not have to open the Lending Library to see what one student has. Open the student from Students and look for the Items out card on their profile: each item, the date it went out, and a Return item button that opens the same check-in step. The card appears only when that student has something out, and returning an item here updates the Lending Library too.