The document summarizes the launch of Loughborough University's Kit-Catalogue system. The Kit-Catalogue is an online equipment cataloguing system that was originally developed to catalog materials research equipment, and has since expanded university-wide. It allows users to find, view, and book equipment both within the university and nationally. Speakers at the launch event discussed the system's benefits for research, teaching, management, and enterprise. They also highlighted partnerships with other universities and efforts to develop the system further.

1. The Launch of Loughborough’s
K I T
CATALOGUE
®
29th May 2013Centre for Engineering and Design Education

2. http://equipment.lboro.ac.uk
Outline K I T
CATALOGUE
®
Welcome – Professor Chris Linton
Introduction to Kit-Catalogue – Rachel Thomson
• Background: Materials Research School equipment database
• Background: Kit-Catalogue® JISC project
• The past year at Loughborough
Loughborough’s Kit-Catalogue – Paul Newman
H.E. Facilities and equipment: the national context – Paul Newman
Benefits for Research, Teaching, Management and Enterprise
• Benefits for research, teaching and management – Rachel Thomson
• Enterprise – Kathryn Burchell
• L.M.C.C. – Scott Doak
Summary – Rachel Thomson

3. Introduction to Kit-Catalogue®
K I T
CATALOGUE
®
Professor Rachel Thomson
http://equipment.lboro.ac.uk

4. Materials Research School K I T
CATALOGUE
®
• January 2008 – Proposal for a Materials Research School
Equipment Database made to Loughborough’s Engineering
Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (engCETL).
• February 2008 – Work begins to develop the database and
catalogue the materials research school equipment (MySQL and
PHP web based system).
• December 2008 – The database is piloted with key stakeholders.
The system is improved and expanded in response to academic
and technician feedback.
• September 2009 – Official launch of the Equipment Database...
http://equipment.lboro.ac.uk

5. The Equipment Database in 2009 K I T
CATALOGUE
®
The original Equipment database had over 800 items catalogued, complete with
photographs and numerous supporting documents.
http://equipment.lboro.ac.uk

6. Kit-Catalogue® JISC Project K I T
CATALOGUE
®
March – November 2011
http://kit-catalogue.lboro.ac.uk
A JISC funded project to produce a web-based, open source equipment
cataloguing system. Funded under JISC’s Greening ICT programme with the
specific aims of realising the environmental and financial benefits of:
• Reducing the costly duplication and double purchasing of equipment within HE
institutions.
• Promoting the reuse of research equipment by staff and students.
• Supporting the sharing of catalogue information on selected equipment and
facilities to third parties, including other HEIs and local industry.
http://equipment.lboro.ac.uk

7. The past year at Loughborough K I T
CATALOGUE
®
• Internal funding from end of JISC project (November 2012) to
April 2013
• Hired Jonathan for cataloguing, development support,
dissemination and production of user guides
• Established a Kit-Catalogue user group – 16 HEI members, 2
national meetings held at Loughborough
• Establishment of the Loughborough Equipment Group, M5 Group
and Uniquip consortium
• Hired a developer to create a booking system for equipment
http://equipment.lboro.ac.uk

8. The past year at Loughborough K I T
CATALOGUE
®
• Won an S-Lab Award for ‘Maximising Equipment Use’ in the Laboratory Equipment and Services
category and a Times Higher Award finalist for Outstanding ICT Initiative of the Year
http://equipment.lboro.ac.uk

9. M5 Universities: Midlands Region K I T
CATALOGUE
®
http://www.m5universities.ac.uk
http://equipment.lboro.ac.uk

10. M5 Universities: Midlands Region K I T
CATALOGUE
®
http://www.m5universities.ac.uk/facilities
M5 Board
• PVC(R)s of 6 Universities
and Chair of Operations
Group, chaired by
Birmingham
M5 Operations Group
• 2 members from each
University, chaired by
Loughborough
M5 Universities are working
towards having a framework
agreement in place to enable
better access and sharing of
facilities and equipment.
http://equipment.lboro.ac.uk

11. Project Team K I T
CATALOGUE
®
Melanie King
Head of The Centre for Engineering & Design Education
Jonathan Attenborough
Kit-Catalogue Project Officer, The Centre for Engineering & Design Education
Professor Rachel Thomson
Director of the Materials Research School and Head of Department, Materials
Martin Hamilton
Head of Internet Systems and Services, ITS
Paul Newman
IT Systems Specialist, ITS
http://equipment.lboro.ac.uk

12. Loughborough’s Kit-Catalogue®
K I T
CATALOGUE
®
Paul Newman
http://equipment.lboro.ac.uk

13. Loughborough’s Kit-Catalogue® K I T
CATALOGUE
®
http://equipment.lboro.ac.uk
• http://equipment.lboro.ac.uk
• 2074 items catalogued and in the system.
• Of those logging in, there's a 60:40 split of staff to students.
• Academics, technicians admin all represented.
• Students are mostly researchers, but significant numbers of
undergrads and taught/MSc.

14. The National Context
K I T
CATALOGUE
®
Paul Newman
http://equipment.lboro.ac.uk

15. K I T
CATALOGUE
®
The EPSRC funded ‘Uniquip’ Project – working towards a national standard
• Collaborative project with Universities of Southampton, Bath, Leeds and Loughborough
representing 4 regional consortia (M5, N8, GW4, SES-5) comprising of 22 universities.
• Proposed guidelines and technical standards to harmonise vocabulary and schema to
enable the development of solutions to be used in the cataloguing and publishing of
research facilities and equipment on a national scale.
• The project held a national conference on 17th September 2012.
• Kit-Catalogue® will be piloting and implementing the agreed standards for describing
and sharing data about equipment and facilities in UK HE.
http://equipment.lboro.ac.uk

16. Equipment Data Sharing K I T
CATALOGUE
®
http://equipment.lboro.ac.uk

17. National Equipment Data Sharing K I T
CATALOGUE
®
http://equipment.data.ac.uk
http://equipment.lboro.ac.uk

18. RCUK: Gateway to Research K I T
CATALOGUE
®
http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
http://equipment.lboro.ac.uk

19. The Kit-Catalogue Community K I T
CATALOGUE
®
• 16 HEI members, many have
public catalogues
• Group involved in feature
development plans
• 2 national meetings so far
• UCL developing mobile Kit-
Catalogue application for smart
tablets and smart phones
• Active mailing list, join on the
project website
http://www.kit-catalogue.com
Kit-Catalogue is an open source application, so anyone can download it.
http://equipment.lboro.ac.uk

20. Benefits for Research, Teaching
and Management
K I T
CATALOGUE
®
Rachel Thomson & Jonathan Attenborough
http://equipment.lboro.ac.uk

21. Benefits for Research K I T
CATALOGUE
®
• The original aim of the system was to enhance research collaboration,
particularly across discipline boundaries
• This remains the case, despite the ‘efficiency’ agenda
• Finding equipment available on site
• Reduced costs in grant applications
• Potential for support in use of equipment
• Potential to link equipment records to LUPIN – enhanced citations
• Research collaborations through sharing
• Joint bids; regional possibilities
• Need to demonstrate that you have explored registers of equipment
for Capital funding calls…
http://equipment.lboro.ac.uk

22. Benefits for Management K I T
CATALOGUE
®
• Customisable inventory reports
• Possibility of keeping all equipment records in one place,
including PAT testing etc
• Linked to Agresso, to facilitate updating at order point
• Fulfilment of procurement policy towards RCUK grants
• Several layers of administrative permissions to allow for
streamlined departmental management of equipment
• Records for insurance purposes…
• On-line booking system coming soon…
http://equipment.lboro.ac.uk

23. Benefits for Management K I T
CATALOGUE
®
• An example of an inventory report (e.g. Possible West Park Refurbishment)
http://equipment.lboro.ac.uk

24. Benefits for Management K I T
CATALOGUE
®
• ‘Enquire button’ - example of a typical enquiry a custodian will receive
http://equipment.lboro.ac.uk

25. Benefits for Teaching K I T
CATALOGUE
®
• 42% of signed-in users viewing items in the catalogue
are students
• Of those students: 60% researchers; 10% taught
research; 30% undergraduates
• Linked resources – lab scripts, instruction manuals,
attached videos
• Linking to items from LEARN
http://equipment.lboro.ac.uk

26. Benefits for Teaching K I T
CATALOGUE
®
• Module leaders can tag equipment associated with their module
http://equipment.lboro.ac.uk

27. Enterprise and Kit-Catalogue®
K I T
CATALOGUE
®
Kathryn Burchell
http://equipment.lboro.ac.uk

28. Enterprise and Kit-Catalogue® K I T
CATALOGUE
®
"Complementing teaching and research, Enterprise is the third strand of our
mission and defines Loughborough as a creative, innovative and outward
facing University, constantly pushing boundaries to bring social and economic
benefit to society.''
Professor Steve Rothberg, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Enterprise
The many benefits to engaging in Enterprise activity:
• social impact
• financial reward
• reputational benefits
• enhanced teaching and research
http://equipment.lboro.ac.uk

29. Enterprise and Kit-Catalogue® K I T
CATALOGUE
®
» new insights for research »
improvements on how an academic
presents
» new contacts for research » changes to the course programme
» strengthened reputation for research » strengthened reputation for teaching
» new research projects »
increased entrepreneurship in
students
» protecting or commercialising your ideas and research
» getting you set up as a consultant, enabling you to get paid for your expertise
» collaborating with external organisations
» starting up a new business
» putting you in touch with other people and business networks
The Enterprise Office has a professional and experienced team who
can help you identify and exploit the commercial and social value of
your work. We can support you with:
http://equipment.lboro.ac.uk

30. Enterprise and Kit-Catalogue® K I T
CATALOGUE
®
Business Development Manager
Richard Newbold
E: R.W.Newbold@lboro.ac.uk
T: 01509 228692
Business Development Manager
(Sustainability)
Peter Strutton
E: P.Strutton@lboro.ac.uk
T: 01509 228682
Business Development Manager
(Healthcare)
Dr Kristen Clements
E: K.M.Clements@lboro.ac.uk
T: 01509 223438
Business Development Associate
Lisa Sanders
E: L.Sanders@lboro.ac.uk
T: 01509 222597
» getting you set up as a consultant, enabling you to get paid for your expertise
» collaborating with external organisations
http://equipment.lboro.ac.uk

31. The LMCC and Kit-Catalogue®
K I T
CATALOGUE
®
Scott Doak
http://equipment.lboro.ac.uk

32. http://equipment.lboro.ac.uk
Loughborough Materials
Characterisation Centre
K I T
CATALOGUE
®

33. http://equipment.lboro.ac.uk
Role of LMCC K I T
CATALOGUE
®
To provide a high quality materials characterisation
facility in support of:
• Materials Department research
• Other research across the whole of
Loughborough University
• Industry and other institutions in the UK
and abroad

34. http://equipment.lboro.ac.uk
LMCC facts K I T
CATALOGUE
®
• Approximately 60 items listed on
Kit-Catalogue
• Over 100 LU researchers using facilities
• Working with over 20 universities in the UK
and overseas
• Performed contract research, consultancy or
provided services to over 130 companies in last 5 years
• Running costs and instrument upgrades partially funded
from external income

35. http://equipment.lboro.ac.uk
How we use Kit-Catalogue K I T
CATALOGUE
®
Help existing users
• Theory of techniques
• Application notes
• Sales brochures
• Instruction videos
Let other users find us
• Increase no. of users
from other departments
• Diversify applications
• Share equipment
Attract external customers
• Web presence
• Effective for search
engines
• Advertise facilities
Extend our capability
• Locate equipment
• Share with other
departments
• Reduce expenditure

36. http://equipment.lboro.ac.uk
What Kit-Catalogue does for LMCC K I T
CATALOGUE
®
• Increase user base
• Enhance our service
• Reduce workload
• Make cost savings
• Generate income

37. Summary
K I T
CATALOGUE
®
Professor Rachel Thomson
http://equipment.lboro.ac.uk

38. K I T
CATALOGUE
®
http://equipment.lboro.ac.uk
Summary and Future Developments
• Continuing to support and develop the software
• A new on-line booking system will be available
• Links to Lupin being developed
• Want Schools/Departments to take more ownership of
their items and improve quality of entries
• Jonathan available to assist!
• Several other issues associated with ‘sharing’ being
addressed
• Framework for sharing being developed with M5 group
• Enjoy the workshop, and suggestions very welcome
• Thank you!

39. CONTACT DETAILS:
K I T
CATALOGUE
®
Kit-Catalogue® Project
DOWNLOAD THE SYSTEM AND FIND OUT MORE HERE:
http://www.kit-catalogue.com
Project Team
For specific help or technical support contact the project team:
kit-catalogue@lboro.ac.uk
http://equipment.lboro.ac.uk