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Five Reasons for RFID in Your Library

 

Friday, January 15, 2010
Adi Tedjasaputra.
by Adi Tedjasaputra

You may have heard some reasons not to have RFID in your library. The most popular reasons not to have RFID usually evolve around the issues of financial investment and return, risk and privacy. If there are more, you may want to tweet me :-)
Here are five reasons why you should consider RFID in your library.


1. Easy Tagging
One of the most daunting experience in introducing RFID system in a library is tagging. The possibility of tagging millions of collections manually by hand is unimaginable. Fortunately, there have been several working solutions for this issue, from the one that tackles the issue of migration from barcode system to full-fledge RFID implementation to the one with automatic tagging and decoding. The Yarra Plenty Regional Library in Australia, for example, was able to tag the whole collections within six months. In the past, there was also an issue of tagging multimedia collections, such as optical discs, as experienced by the National Library Board Singapore. However, it is no longer a problem with the newest RFID technology. You Just have to make sure that you do not buy an old RFID technology, which has a severe readability problem with special type of collections, such as DVDs and CDs.

2. Automated Sorting
Once a library collection is dropped at a specific place, the collection will be automatically scanned by one or more RFID readers. The system will then send a unique identification data read from the returned collection to the backend system in miliseconds and subsequently produce an acknowledgement of returned collection. Either using conveyor belt or any other means, the collection can later be transported to another spot for a sorting process. Using RFID technology, unsupervised automatic sorting is also possible. Watch the following video illustrating the sorting process at Seattle Public Library.



3. Managing Collections and Storage
Most libraries organise their collections using Dewey Decimal Classification system. When librarians put collections away, they need to put them in a specific place according to Dewey Decimal Classification system. The idea of having the classification system is to have a unique location where they can locate each collection easily. While the classification system is very helpful to locate the collections when they are in the right spot everytime, in daily practice, the collections may not be in the place where they are supposed to be. Patrons who are not familiar with the classification system may take a collection away from a shelf and return it in an unknown spot somewhere else, for example. Librarians need to gather the collections which are scattered in different places and put them back in their right location. Thanks to RFID, it is now possible for librarians and patrons to locate and return the collections in the right place where they belong effectively and efficiently.

4. Secure and Automated Reservation and Borrowing
In library patron's use cases, reservation and borrowing are the most useful features of Integrated RFID Library Management System. The vision of 24/7 library is already possible with the use of RFID technology. No more dispute on whether a patron returns a collection in time or late. No more hassle of returning during library opening hours. Beyond a single library, RFID can provide real time information when interlibrary loan collections arrive or leave a specific library.

5. Interactive Information, Help and Guide
A number of museums in Europe, America and Northern Asia have started to implement trials on RFID technology to enhance the experience of their visitors. The Museum of Natural History in Aarhus, Denmark has used RFID to enable real time information delivery for an exhibition. In The Osaka Science Museum, Japan, researchers have tried to use the information obtained from RFID bracelets worn by museum visitors for directing some robots to guide them around several exhibits. The Tech Museum of Innovation in California, USA, has offered students visiting the museum to personalize their visiting experience with RFID wristbands. Can a similar system be implemented for a library? The answer is: Yes, it can. Libraries around the world can enhance and empower their visitors and patrons with RFID technology.

So what if you could deploy the Integrated RFID Library Management System in less than a year? Will the benefits of having more efficient library system with RFID in place outweigh the investment? Then, you will still ask even more difficult questions, such as: How much does it cost?

You can read all about them in the Cost Benefit Analysis of Integrated RFID Library Management System that will be published at the end of this year.

The writer is the Founder of RFID Asia - The Prominent RFID Community in Asia.

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So You Want RFID in Your Library?

 

Sunday, November 01, 2009
Adi Tedjasaputra.
by Adi Tedjasaputra

With the profound impact on modern libraries around the world, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology has changed the way libraries increase productivity and improve their patrons' experience. Thanks to Barcode and EAS systems, which have introduced the benefits of electronic security and automatic identification, RFID has now become the latest technology trend in libraries.

The possibility to integrate security with automatic identification is the most attractive benefit of RFID in libraries. With the latest RFID technology, there are several other benefits that come into play. What are they? Why do we need RFID in libraries? How can RFID improve the business process in a library?

Integration of RFID technology in the business process of library has been tried by many libraries around the world. Some have learnt the hard way and failed, some have succeeded by learning from failures, others learned from the failures and successes of the early adopters and implement the best RFID solutions. RFID technology implementation in Harrogate College Library, for example, achieves smoother transaction and lower security risks. Some drawbacks in RFID implementation in Silkeborg Public Library, as another example, show that RFID technology in library was still maturing about five years ago.

The best RFID solution for library is actually the one that seamlessly integrates RFID technology with the existing library management system. We usually call this Integrated RFID Library Management System. The objective of an Integrated RFID Library Management System is to empower both library staff and patrons to conduct their activities with maximum productivity and highest level of positive experience. RFID technology is available and ready to support this vision. Here is one reason why you should consider Integrated RFID Library Management System: Security

Enforcing Library Security

As explained in the previous RFID Asia Journal, the EAS systems that are currently deployed in modern libraries are still vulnerable to RF shielding. While the RFID technology still faces challenges similar to the EAS systems, an addition of metal detector gate in the exit area will add another security layer for any materials that may be used for RF shielding. A more complex solution is to use of surveillance cameras and face recognition software, in addition to RFID gate and metal detector, which can identify repeat thieves.

Even with these security measures in place, social engineering or any other counter security techniques may still succeed to penetrate the library's security system. The difference is in the demanding resources required to penetrate the system, which will deter casual thieves. Compared to the current EAS systems, which can provide a guarantee of 80% loss reduction, the Integrated RFID Library Management System can offer at least 90% loss reduction.

In the next RFID Asia Journal, you will learn the other five reasons why you should consider Integrated RFID Library Management System in your library.

The writer is the Founder of RFID Asia - The Prominent RFID Community in Asia.

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RFID Library Security System

 

Friday, September 25, 2009
Adi Tedjasaputra.
by Adi Tedjasaputra

The security measures in libraries around the world have evolved along the changing role of libraries in modern society. A lot of things have been tried to tackle the security challenges in libraries. Will RFID technology be able to provide a solution to the security problems faced by modern libraries?

I have been blessed with the opportunity to visit hundreds of libraries in three continents. Some of the interesting ones include a traditional library in Salatiga, Indonesia, the disabled-friendly State Library of Western Australia and the largest library in the Nordic countries, Det Kongelige Bibliotek – The Danish Royal Library in Denmark. Interestingly, all the libraries are all facing similar challenges, i.e. theft (security) and inefficient library management system.

Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) Systems in Libraries

A lot of things have been tried to tackle the security challenges in libraries, including the use of EAS systems, which are nowadays quite common in modern libraries. There are several types of EAS systems, i.e. Radio Frequency (RF), Electromagnetic (EM) and Acousto-magnetic (AM) systems. There is another kind system called Microwave systems. However, since there is only a small number of such systems deployed compared to the other systems, we will not discuss the Microwave systems further.

All EAS systems rely on tags, labels, transmitters and receivers. The RF tags and labels will trigger an alarm if an unauthorized person taking some items tagged or embedded with the tags and labels passes through a pair of transmitter and receiver (gates) tuned to the operating frequency of the tags and labels. High intensity RF pulse will disarm the RF labels. RF tags, on the other hand, are usually reusable and easily detachable by a detacher without any need of disarmament.

Different from the RF EAS systems, the EM EAS systems use high permeable material for the tags and labels, which will generate a signal within an applied electromagnetic field. When someone brings some tagged items near the exit gates, the receiver will sense the signal generated by the tags and labels and activate an alarm. Deactivating the tags is as simple as magnetizing the tags and de-magnetizing for (re)activation.

AM EAS systems work similar to RF EAS system, in which the transmitter sends RF signal to excite the labels and tags. However, at a frequency of 58 kHz in pulses, the transmitter energizes the labels and tags to emit RF signal to be detected by a receiver. Different from EM tags, magnetizing the AM labels and tags will (re)activate them and demagnetizing for deactivation.

Integrated RFID Library System

While all of the EAS systems described have been relatively adequate to deter casual thefts, simple tricks such as the use of magnet, metal or jammer can easily fool the EAS systems. In addition, a study published a couple of years ago reports that EM and AM EAS systems may adversely affect the performance of pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillators.

When RFID Library system first introduced more than a decade ago, its main use was only as a better replacement for barcode system in inventory management of library materials. Nevertheless, RFID technology nowadays has matured to a state where it can be used in a fool-proof RFID Library Security System.

The challenges of RFID Library Security System as an anti-theft are similar to the EAS systems, which rely on the physics of electromagnetic field. Despite the intelligence of data transmission and storage, RFID tags and labels are still susceptible from threats such as RF shielding and jamming.

With the advance of RFID technology, the latest RFID Library system is usually equipped with anti-jamming and collision detection features. RF shielding, on the other hand, requires a different strategy that involves integration with RFID Library Management System, physical security and other security technologies.

In the next RFID Asia Journal, you can read about the Integrated RFID Library Management System that provides a solution to the RF shielding threat and improve the efficiency of Library Management System.

The writer is the Founder of RFID Asia - Asia's Leading Independent RFID Knowledge Centre Helping RFID Vendors & End-Users Making Best Investment, Leverage Competitiveness & Market Share.

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S'pore beefs up library borrowing system

 

Tuesday, May 17, 2005
The National Library Board (NLB), which manages Singapore's 40 public libraries, has beefed up its IT infrastructure with new Web-enabled terminals to provide enhanced security features and easy management.

The deployment encompasses new "borrowing" kiosks which sport built-in cameras that capture the faces of library users while they check out their loans. Installed at six library branches since last December, the kiosk will enable library officials to resolve disputes based on images it captures, explained Kuan Sung, NLB's infocomm operations manager.

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