I've been trying to find good, innovative techniques for RFID use or new updates in RFID tag technology in scholarly journals, in my attempt to keep the information on this blog wholly relevant and professional. Needless to say, my research hasn't been going overly well. My usual avenues for research have been suddenly lost to me, so the remaining ones make acquiring information slower and the information acquirable is less updated. I've beginning to think internet researching techniques should have been the topic after-all. I'm now planning on branching out with my information gathering, so let's see how that goes.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
RFID Journal
So in my less formal research pursuits -- also known as googling -- I managed to stumble across a website called the RFID Journal. I'm not sure how reputable a source this is, but given the fact you have to pay to fully access the available articles I'm willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. It has several different sections for different avenues of research from "Aerospace"* to "Retail" which is where library applications can be found. I suppose the primary intentions of RFID use in library -- to organize, locate, and otherwise maintain stock of collections -- are not far from for-profit ventures.
One article discussed the use of RFID in self-checkouts in Queens library's in New York. This is something I've had mentioned off hand to me occasionally as a possible use for RFID but not as something that people actually do. I was surprised and pleased to hear that such a congested urban area was so keen to try such a massive overhaul.
You see, self-checkouts that are enabled by RFID tags can't just be slipped into a preexisting system like an post script. They are a two part system that has to be able to sync up; there are the kiosks which need to be far more user friendly than the regular ILS but are still incorporated enough into the system to share inventory and user data such as due dates and fines and then there are the tags themselves. I know a lot of people think an RFID tag is an RFID tag is an RFID tag, that is to say that they are are the same. They are just like the uniform bar-code system in stores. This is not so true. While stores don't need to keep purchaser information, and generally don't if they are not online, libraries do. They need to know who has their inventory and for how long and how many people have checked it out and a whole host of other user statistics managers need to make wise purchasing decisions. It needs to communicate with several levels of OPACs in larger systems too to facilitate inter-library loan. This means the system that registers the data off an RFID tag is essentially different from the system that registers inventory items off a store bar-code.
RFID tags also present much more than the intricate inventory data required by library systems, they also work as anti-graft devices. Different levels, and unsurprisingly different price levels, of RFID can do different ways. Some RFID tags send out a signal when they pass security detectors while activated. Other RFID tags can broadcast their location to various levels of precision. The most expensive can be located precisely while the less expensive can broadcast whether or not their even in the building. All RFID tags are more expensive than the run of the mill tags most Georgia libraries use. The difference? Well RFID tags that are enabled to register at self-checkouts generally cost about a dollar. The non-RFID tags used at my local library (which is a fairly nice one given it's a mid-sized urban area) at 20 cents.
You may ask yourself why not go ahead an put in the extra 70 or 80 cents it takes to rock an RFID tag. It should make up for re-purchasing costs when books get lifted. Nope. That's 20 cents a book remember? In the Georgia library system there are about 200,000 books give or take. (I'm taking this figure from asking a local librarian not a vetted publication so it might not be 100% accurate.) If we accept that's the number of books there are in the system, that's about $40,000 for tags. This may or may not be more than I make in a year. It is. And that's not including the books that have been added or deleted over time. If we decide to buy RFID tags that are self check out enabled we would be paying about $200,000 in a lump sum. Much much more than I make in a year. And then pay for the new system and the new kiosks and physical renovations to library buildings to make room for them and training on how to maintain and repair them and so forth. And then paying even more each year for new tags. And this is just the direct expensive, my thumbs ache imagining the hours it would take to apply all those tags to preexisting collections. Ick.
This is why I find what the Queens Borough Public Library system did so amazing. The amount of work they would have to put in is amazing, not even to mention the ridiculous expenditure. But I feel it was worth it. The thin about self-checkouts at libraries is that they drastically improve accessibility and customer service. (The latter is more my opinion than fact though.) In making kiosks user friendly, they adapted the system to be available in a number of different languages in the area. In the South, it is not uncommon to find someone that speaks primarily Spanish, or at least prefers to. Valdosta itself has a notably large population of Korean exchange students. Being able to check out a book through a process that uses your own native language would be beneficial to many users. And then there is the issue of fines.
Fines are a tricky necessity since no one likes paying them and very few people take the news that they have accrued a fine well. I take a certain unholy glee from the terror on a public librarians face when they realize they have to tell me I have a fine. (I've never fussed since I've more or less deserved whatever small fines I've gotten but the amount of fear some of them have for the news is both depressing and hilarious.) A self-check kiosk could make this operation so much smoother because hey, if you shout abuse and expletives at a machine you look like the crazy bad person. I feel that some people probably would switch over to a regular check out just so they can curse and make a scene, but having a computer shame you for your tardiness would act as a deterrent for some. To get to the point, the less a librarian has to deal with a belligerent patron, the more pleasant and willing to help they are for the next one. Self-check kiosks would act as a buffer to a point.
All in all, I say good job Queens Borough. Keep it up!
Also if your curious about how a self access system might work once the robots overthrow their human masters as well as some of the other benefits please watch this video!
If my words were almost explanatory enough and you feel that this blog just didn't have enough montages, here you go!
*Also these guys used the word Aerospace! Go them!
References
One article discussed the use of RFID in self-checkouts in Queens library's in New York. This is something I've had mentioned off hand to me occasionally as a possible use for RFID but not as something that people actually do. I was surprised and pleased to hear that such a congested urban area was so keen to try such a massive overhaul.
You see, self-checkouts that are enabled by RFID tags can't just be slipped into a preexisting system like an post script. They are a two part system that has to be able to sync up; there are the kiosks which need to be far more user friendly than the regular ILS but are still incorporated enough into the system to share inventory and user data such as due dates and fines and then there are the tags themselves. I know a lot of people think an RFID tag is an RFID tag is an RFID tag, that is to say that they are are the same. They are just like the uniform bar-code system in stores. This is not so true. While stores don't need to keep purchaser information, and generally don't if they are not online, libraries do. They need to know who has their inventory and for how long and how many people have checked it out and a whole host of other user statistics managers need to make wise purchasing decisions. It needs to communicate with several levels of OPACs in larger systems too to facilitate inter-library loan. This means the system that registers the data off an RFID tag is essentially different from the system that registers inventory items off a store bar-code.
RFID tags also present much more than the intricate inventory data required by library systems, they also work as anti-graft devices. Different levels, and unsurprisingly different price levels, of RFID can do different ways. Some RFID tags send out a signal when they pass security detectors while activated. Other RFID tags can broadcast their location to various levels of precision. The most expensive can be located precisely while the less expensive can broadcast whether or not their even in the building. All RFID tags are more expensive than the run of the mill tags most Georgia libraries use. The difference? Well RFID tags that are enabled to register at self-checkouts generally cost about a dollar. The non-RFID tags used at my local library (which is a fairly nice one given it's a mid-sized urban area) at 20 cents.
You may ask yourself why not go ahead an put in the extra 70 or 80 cents it takes to rock an RFID tag. It should make up for re-purchasing costs when books get lifted. Nope. That's 20 cents a book remember? In the Georgia library system there are about 200,000 books give or take. (I'm taking this figure from asking a local librarian not a vetted publication so it might not be 100% accurate.) If we accept that's the number of books there are in the system, that's about $40,000 for tags. This may or may not be more than I make in a year. It is. And that's not including the books that have been added or deleted over time. If we decide to buy RFID tags that are self check out enabled we would be paying about $200,000 in a lump sum. Much much more than I make in a year. And then pay for the new system and the new kiosks and physical renovations to library buildings to make room for them and training on how to maintain and repair them and so forth. And then paying even more each year for new tags. And this is just the direct expensive, my thumbs ache imagining the hours it would take to apply all those tags to preexisting collections. Ick.
This is why I find what the Queens Borough Public Library system did so amazing. The amount of work they would have to put in is amazing, not even to mention the ridiculous expenditure. But I feel it was worth it. The thin about self-checkouts at libraries is that they drastically improve accessibility and customer service. (The latter is more my opinion than fact though.) In making kiosks user friendly, they adapted the system to be available in a number of different languages in the area. In the South, it is not uncommon to find someone that speaks primarily Spanish, or at least prefers to. Valdosta itself has a notably large population of Korean exchange students. Being able to check out a book through a process that uses your own native language would be beneficial to many users. And then there is the issue of fines.
Fines are a tricky necessity since no one likes paying them and very few people take the news that they have accrued a fine well. I take a certain unholy glee from the terror on a public librarians face when they realize they have to tell me I have a fine. (I've never fussed since I've more or less deserved whatever small fines I've gotten but the amount of fear some of them have for the news is both depressing and hilarious.) A self-check kiosk could make this operation so much smoother because hey, if you shout abuse and expletives at a machine you look like the crazy bad person. I feel that some people probably would switch over to a regular check out just so they can curse and make a scene, but having a computer shame you for your tardiness would act as a deterrent for some. To get to the point, the less a librarian has to deal with a belligerent patron, the more pleasant and willing to help they are for the next one. Self-check kiosks would act as a buffer to a point.
All in all, I say good job Queens Borough. Keep it up!
Also if your curious about how a self access system might work once the robots overthrow their human masters as well as some of the other benefits please watch this video!
If my words were almost explanatory enough and you feel that this blog just didn't have enough montages, here you go!
*Also these guys used the word Aerospace! Go them!
References
Pandian, M. P. (2010). RFID
for libraries: A practical guide. Oxford: Chandos.
Ward, D. M. (2007). RFID and libraries: A how-to-do-it manual and companion DVD. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers.
Zaino, J. (2008). The Queens Library System Grows With RFID.
RFID Journal, 27. Retrieved from http://www.rfidjournal.com/
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Hello!
Welcome classmates! Thanks for visiting! Your blog links will be on the lower right hand side of this blog. If anyone would like me to change anything about how their blog is labeled feel free to leave a comment. Otherwise, I'd like to get to know you all better so leave a comment anyway if possible please?
What is RFID?
RFID stands for radio-frequency identification. It's a technology, usually embodied as a tag, that records data for identification purposes but also emit radio waves to deliver that information to an appropriate reader. Typically, this technology is used to tag library possessions to prevent graft of popular books but it can also be used in inventorying and weeding procedures as well as to locate lost or mis-shelved materials. It also plays key role in the future of library automation, since through RFID tagging we can now integrate self-serve kiosks for patrons to pay fines and check books out, as well as enable automated sorting machines.
For more information on just how this information works, please view the posts tagged and titled More Technology Than I'm Actually Comfortable Explaining. The remaining posts will be about seeing this technology in practice and over time.
For more information on just how this information works, please view the posts tagged and titled More Technology Than I'm Actually Comfortable Explaining. The remaining posts will be about seeing this technology in practice and over time.
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Who am I?
My name is Kelly Strickland. I'm a first year LIS student at Valdosta State University where I previously graduated with a BA in philosophy. My career goal is to be a cataloger once I have graduated but to also go for further education so I can become a museum archivist. I'm currently a geosciences TA at VSU. My key interest in the technological aspects of information technology is in creating accurate and user-friendly discovery tools for patrons.
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