Sarah Benefield
Bethany Havas
Britt Ozburn
MLIS 7505
Applied Technology: RFID in Libraries
I. Background to RFIDRadio frequency identification (RFID) technology allows monitoring and tracking of inventory in a store, shipping facility, or even library. This technology allows a company or institution to track entire shipments, or individual items within a shipment, or both. An RFID tag consists of a computer chip and internal antenna, which work together to store information about the item and transmit that information to scanning devices via radio waves. Tags are often “passive,” meaning they have no power of their own and the intensity of their range is limited. Passive tags must be read, rather than send out a radio frequency pulse with the information contained (Caldwell-Stone, 2010).
Different types of RFID tags have different purposes. Some tags are meant to give general information – where an item is in relation to where it should be, for instance. Some tags are meant to give more specific information, such as the temperature in that location, and all types of tags are meant to eventually be purposed for scanning hundreds of items at once. RFID technology is more advanced than barcode technology in that RFID scanners need not “see” the RFID tag in order to scan that tag. No line of sight is needed to inventory items (Smith & Konsynski, 2003).
The purpose of RFID is simple – automation. Regardless of the implementation and locale, use of RFID increases the number of processes that lend themselves to automation and reduces the amount of lost inventory, whether within a facility or by theft. Also, RFID technology would allow collaboration amongst different corporations or facilities, since inventory would no longer belong to a specific store or facility, but would be inventory from a specific company.
However, due to concerns over security breaches created by RIFD tags, many have long resisted adopting RFID technology. People have worried that RFID tags would allow consumer information to become public to all, or only to those who can hack into the information or afford it outright. Would the government use this information to spy on consumers? Would companies use this information to target consumers individually? Would thieves be able to pursue victims based on purchase information gathered from RFID tags? These are all concerns consumers have had over the years, concerns which have been invalidated by the strength of RFID tags and the amount of information the tags are capable of tracking. Passive tags cannot be read from a distance of more than twenty feet. Active tags can be read from farther away, if other radio frequency noise does not interfere, but RFID tags contain no more information than a store barcode already includes, so information theft is unlikely (Frequently Asked Questions, 2011).
Another reason for resistance to RFID is tags are prohibitively expensive for retail purposes – sometimes as much as a dollar per tag, and once the items have been inventoried, the tags are often disposed. Currently, there is a goal to create tags for as little as five cents each, but that goal is still some years away, and tags at present cost twenty to forty cents each (What is RFID? 2011). If tags were not disposed after every use, however, cost would not be so exorbitant.
II. Advantages and DisadvantagesRFID is an amazing leap in technology. Whereas librarians were at one time beholden to handwriting numbers or titles to record items, and then scanning specific items within direct sight and contact, RFID allows individuals to identify items without seeing or making direct contact with them. Additionally, an RFID tag, unlike many barcode stickers, can be placed anywhere on an item and still be easily picked up by a reader.
The ease and speed with which these identifiers can be scanned takes less time than traditional identifying stickers, which can speed up patron service by providing quicker checkouts. In fact, since it is more difficult for a scanner to miss Radio Frequency Identification tags than it is for a scanner to miss (by error of technology or library staff) a barcode sticker, circulation statistics would be more reliable. As for returning items, RFID tags remove the need for staff to locate and scan a barcode to identify materials. Radio Frequency Identification paves the way for automated check-in procedures at the point of return and could immediately update patron accounts as the activity occurs.
Library maintenance, such as inventory, is also infinitely assisted by RFID, which prevents library staff from having to pull individual items from every shelf and scan every barcode. Instead, the radio identification allows a reader to pick up the item records without taking everything off the shelf.
Current library security often involves magnetized strips, such as Tattle Tape, which, when magnetized, set off security gates so that an alarm will sound. However, many other items like laptop computers and cell phones are commonly thought to interfere with magnetized security materials. If library security was intended to react to RFID tags instead of magnetized strips, security could be more reliable.
On the other hand, RFID tags signals can be compromised by sufficiently covering or overlapping the tags. The National Information Standards Organization (2007) also recognizes that, as a non-contact method of identification, there are concerns in the information professional community about the privacy of users with RFID materials. Ultimately, one of the greatest impediments to implementing Radio Frequency Identification processes in an information center is the high overhead cost, given the current price of individual tags. If a library wishes to go this route, it will cost a large amount of money and many hours of staff time to convert their stations and stacks and modify their circulation and technical procedures. Not only will a library have to replace their traditional circulation stations with RFID-enabled technology, but every individual item in the library must be fitted with its own RFID tag – a daunting task for an established collection with thousands and thousands of items.
However discouraging the initial changes may be, one cannot deny that the pace of technology affects libraries in such a way that the organizations must eventually succumb to the march of time. If they do not keep up, they will become outdated, irrelevant, and untenable in the fast-paced information age. Libraries eventually must weigh their options and their budgets to determine when, not just if, they will adapt.
III. Applications in Libraries
When an RFID chip retains an item’s barcode number and does not have to be seen to be used, many great advantages are brought forth. The greatest advantage to note for the patron is an easier checkout experience. Whether checking out two items or a stack, the patron can set the stack of items on a pad, and each item’s information is sent to the library’s management system. It is, therefore, not necessary to look for and scan each individual item’s barcode. The item’s security is turned off, the item is checked out, and the patron is ready to leave the library in less time. The instantaneous disabling of the item’s security also saves time. This has led to the widespread use of self-checkout stations, similar to those at many major grocery stores. These stations usually contain a library card scanner, RFID pad, receipt printer, and an easy, intuitive way for the patron to pay library fines on the spot. RFID’s security integration also allows for a self-service holds shelf, where patrons can pick up their own holds and check them out themselves.
RFID brings several other possibilities for library staff behind the scenes. Another great advantage is at check-in. When there are a great number of items to check in, a staff member can place an entire stack on an RFID pad rather than scan each barcode, therefore saving time. The security is enabled and the item is checked in. Some libraries using RFID also use a conveyor belt for items to be checked in, saving staff time. According to the National Information Standards Organization (2007), an RFID pad needs less than one second to read an RFID chip, including taking its number, enabling its security, and sending the information back to the Integrated Library System (ILS).
RFID assists in the library’s collection management as well. RFID packages for libraries usually include a wand that reads RFID information. This wand is an electronic device that can integrate with the library’s ILS. When taken through the library stacks, the wand can read each item’s RFID information and check the catalog to make sure it is encoded correctly. The wand can also verify that the item is properly checked in with security enabled, not checked out or marked “Missing” or “Damaged” in the ILS. This greatly reduces the frequency of items being incorrectly presumed missing.
REFERENCES
Caldwell-Stone, D. (2010). Chapter 6: RFID in libraries. Library Technology Reports. 46(8), 38-44. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Frequently asked questions. (2011). RFID Journal. Retrieved June 1, 2011 from http://www.rfidjournal.com/faq.
National Information Standards Organization. (2007). RFID in U.S. Libraries. Baltimore, MD. Retrieved from http://www.niso.org/publications/rp/RP-6-2008.pdf
Smith, H. & Konsynski, B. (2003). Developments in Practice X: Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) – An Internet for physical objects. Communications for the Association of Information Systems. 2003(12), 301-311. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
What is RFID? (2011). RFID Journal. Retrieved June 1, 2011 from http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/1339/1/129/.
