I will often tell people that the staff is busy getting
ready to move. I can tell by the look on their faces that “move” to them means
packing boxes and carting those boxes off to the new library. What it does mean
these days is that the staff is tagging the collection. Many of you already
know the new library will have an automated check-in and sorting system on the
first and third floors. It is RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology
that allows this sorting to take place. RFID technology enables staff to know
if a book is checked out or simply lost in the building. There will be gates on
the first floor at the Wayne Street and Fenton Street entrances. Those gates
will alarm if someone has forgotten to check out. Should this happen we will
invite them to return to the self-checkout station.
The check-in process is totally automated. The RFID tags are
attached to the book, DVD or other piece of material and placed on a pad
connected to a PC. The bar code on the items and the tag are linked together
and entered into the computer. The books are returned through an opening where
they are put on a conveyor belt, checked –in by a computer and sorted into a
tub for shelving.
The 2” x 2” tag is a small but important feature of RFID.
For the first shipment we received 100,000 tags. Forty-thousand were sent to
the processor for the opening day collection. The other 60,000 were left with
us to put in each piece of library materials. We started in early summer and we
have 3,000 left from the original shipment to apply to materials. We recently
received another shipment of 40,000 tags and are busy getting ready to apply
those tags.
It is a tedious job that takes time. Volunteers cut the tags
and staff places the tags in materials. We have boxes of cut tags stored in the
manager’s office. Right now we count the number of tags that we place in
materials just to give us a count of the collection and see how closely that
mirrors what we know to be the size of the collection. But the beauty is you
will now be able to checkout more efficiently by simply placing a stack of books,
up to fifty, on the pad and they will be checked-out instantly.
While there is always an adjustment period, once customers
and staff become acclimated to this technology, I predict we will enjoy the
many benefits it offers.
fran.ware@montgomerycountymd.gov
Labels: Moving, Silver Spring