RFID Community in Asia
Five Reasons for RFID in Your Library
Friday, January 15, 2010
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.
Labels: library, management, rfid, system, technology
Read more »
So You Want RFID in Your Library?
Sunday, November 01, 2009
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.
Labels: library, management, rfid, security, system, technology
Read more »
Wagon Management System in India
Friday, July 08, 2005
The Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) in India plans to use radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to improve the wagon management system of the Railways.
Read more »
Labels: india, management, rfid, technology
Read more »
The first RFID-based die inventory management system
Monday, July 04, 2005
Nissan introduced the world's first die inventory management system with radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags at an engine manufacturing plant in Yokohama.
Read more »
Labels: die, inventory, management, rfid, tag, technology
Read more »
Tighter identity management
Monday, January 24, 2005
"The manufacturer has a lot of large factories with between 5000 to 6000 employees in each and had difficulty tracking who was arriving or leaving. It looked into putting RFID chips into employee overalls so the company could monitor entry and exit areas," Watson said. "The reason why it chose RFID was that its privacy requirement needed to uniquely identify the overalls, not the people.
Read more »
Labels: identity, management, privacy, rfid, tracking
Read more »
RFID Asia on Facebook
RFID Asia Journals
- Five Reasons for RFID in Your Library
- So You Want RFID in Your Library?
- RFID Library Security System
- Windows 7: Promising Sensor and Location Platfom?
- RFID Tag cum Reader for Apple iPhone 4G?
- Convergence Systems Limited to provide RFID equipm...
- London Underground use Confidex Ironside Tag on Es...
- Confidex Introduces On-Metal RFID Tag for IT Asset...
- New Ez-Link Contactless Smart Cards Converge Trans...
- RF Code Announces On-Command Beaconing Solution fo...
QR Code
