[OPLINLIST] Weighting items for the Library of Things

[Joe Knueven]

Hi Derrick, 



I think you're attempting to measure beyond the sensitivity of your scale.  The listing says that it is accurate down to .01g/1kg, which I think means in pounds and ounces it can vary by as much as 0.0035oz per measurement.  

If I read your email correctly, you are seeing variability of up to 0.0000096oz per weigh-in.    



When we started circulating board games here we packaged them up in the manner in which we planned on circulating them and then weighed them on the scale we would use and had the scale set to grams.  In hindsight, if I were to do it again, I would probably write in a range for the weight, so if the board game weighed 800 grams, I'd write it in as 799-801g.  

I went with grams because they are much smaller than ounces and when set to grams my scale will display a simpler, more human readable number, ie, 900g, instead of 1lb 15.75oz.



My gut feeling is that if you try to measure to something more accurate than 1g, especially with something that has any paper/cardboard type product in it, it is likely to vary just based on things like relative humidity or other minor variables.    



My recommendation would be that you measure down to not less than whole grams, measure each item in the form in which it will circ and call it good.  



Best of luck and have a good day.



Joe





Joe Knueven, Director

Wilmington Public Library

268 N South Street

Wilmington, OH 45177

937-382-6165 x101 (office)

937-382-2417 (public)










---- On Thu, 04 Sep 2025 13:45:05 -0400 Derrick Ranostaj via OPLINLIST <oplinlist at lists.oplin.org> wrote ---



HI all, 



We decided to use a digital scale to weigh puzzles, and board games for our Library of Things, rather than hand count items when returned. I bought a digital scale but I am having difficulties with consistent weights every time. It varries by .0000001 of a
 pound each time (it's sometimes off by a + or - of about 3).   



This is the scale we purchased: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C6DLLM2T?ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_dp_6XZWNT2C45GE37GZYW09&ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_dp_6XZWNT2C45GE37GZYW09&social_share=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_dp_6XZWNT2C45GE37GZYW09&csmig=1&th=1 



It could be I bought the wrong scale, and it's too small.  A coworker suggested buying a digital scale used for food. Another issue is, it could just be unreliable (possible damaged) and I've tried to recalibate is several times, but no luck 





I am wondering if anyone has used a digital scale for items to count items in the library of things. If so:



What was the scale used: brand name



How large of a scale did you get?



How do you account for a margin of error (do you also weight it once or a few times to confirm the weightt?)



Do you weigh items in a box (e.g. A puzzle box) OR take them out and weigh as a whole (e.g. Puzzles in a plastic bag).



Final weights (your weight versus how much the company says it weights)



Weight in box versus out of box? Your library of things re box items or in original box?







Also, open for debate: how many of you use a scale versus hand counting items versus using a digital scale. I've found that it's usually a pretty even split online or 60/40 split (60 in favor of hand counting). 



Thank you, 





Derrick Ranostaj 

Emerging Technologies Librarian

Hudson Library & Historical Society

96 Library St.

Hudson, OH 44236

(330) 653-6658 x1026









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