Chipping in – reflections and predictions for library rev
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The document discusses the past, present, and future of RFID technology in libraries. It argues that while RFID has enabled self-service capabilities, a lack of data and communication standards has limited its potential. The document calls for adopting common data and communication standards to improve interoperability between systems, increase competition, reduce costs, and encourage innovation and improved services.
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Chipping in – reflections and predictions for library rev
- 1. Chipping in – Reflections on and Predictions for Library RFID. Mick Fortune Library RFID Limited
- 3. … but first Library 24 – Verona Automated Receiving – Maastricht RFID enabled smartphone, USA Book sorter – Lyngby, Smart Shelves, Singapore
- 4. Future, or Futurama? + = RFID enabled IPhone Available from Amazon
- 5. THE STORY SO FAR
- 7. Rapid Growth Based on data from the annual RFID survey on LIB-RFID
- 18. A Common Data Standard
- 19. A Common Communication Framework
- 21. WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
- 28. Thank You! Mick Fortune Library RFID Ltd. t. +44 1865 727411 m. +44 7786 625544 e. mick@ libraryrfid.co.uk w. www.libraryrfid.co.uk b. www.mickfortune.com/Wordpress
Editor's Notes
- How did we get here, have we got it right – or wrong? Where next?
- A little glimpse of the future? RFID uses are myriad in number and often confusing because of their ubiquity. Phones and cards are already used in libraries – other devices will follow. It’s probably best to think of RFID in library management as being separate from its other applications
- … and my prediction for the “next big thing” – already used in book supply
- The growth in use of RFID in the UK has been seen by many as a triumph. The announcement of the introduction of RFID is often accompanied by phrases such as “joining the 21 st century”, “state of the art” etc. - which is odd for a technology that has been in active use in libraries for at least 15 years. I’m going to suggest that in reality the way the UK has gone about implementing RFID has been far from triumphant, and that if we don’t heed the warnings the example we risk setting the world is of how NOT to do it.
- It’s easy to understand why RFID is so popular and the market was already positioned to deliver since the LMS links were already there
- Certainly the figures suggest it is
- RFID has spread like wildfire. Everyone wants it but few know very much about it. Suppliers have done their best to identify and anticipate applications – but with little help from librarians or the other key players in this equation – the LMS suppliers.
- The need for self service drove the libraries Adding the value of security drove the suppliers
- The disadvantages of proprietary solutions
- … which has lead to a lack of integration and interoperability. Ideas are plentiful… but most libraries, and many suppliers have little idea how to implement them
- So why is this the case? For reasons that are unclear RFID has been widely misunderstood by users, suppliers and experts alike Privacy should not be an issue Job losses are management decisions, not a consequence of the technology UHF or HF, 28560-2 or DDM? – are not really difficult decisions. But it’s much more than a barcode
- One of the biggest problems was obvious – almost from the beginning … Germany and the US - usually quick to adopt new technologies - heeded the warnings – the UK did not.
- So, are we doomed to limited use of the technology?
- Hopefully not but by having concentrating so hard on implementing self-service we have mostly failed to notice that we have simultaneously changed the way everything else works. Most libraries now struggle with both RFID and barcode based applications.
- Partly this is because of the way we buy RFID. We accepted the requirement to buy from a single vendor without question. Possibly because that’s the way we buy our LMS? But there would have been no need for this if we’d spent 5 minutes thinking about what underlies the whole system – the tags. Now even the suppliers want us to do that – but librarians don’t seem interested.
- How many librarians are aware of the work that has been undertaken on their behalf over the last three years? Or why? These are some of the things I’ve been involved in.
- We’re very close to this being the “norm” for all future installations
- To avoid repeating the “lock in” error made with RFID we need to encourage good behaviour by LMS companies too…
- Buying through a framework might be the “safe” option career-wise but may well be the worst decision you’ll ever make for your stakeholders. Frameworks are out of date, force single supplier purchases and cost more money (they add between 1.5 and 2% to the bottom line). Cite example of LUPC’s dilemma
- There are many opinions out there…
- The people who manufacture the chips clearly aren’t concerned about integration and LMS linkage, not to mention data standards
- The suppliers “get it” though
- But some librarians still need convincing that they need to use standards – or maybe they’re just worried that they should have been paying better attention? Signs here that having all your stock tagged one way might be a problem? Cite example of RFID company asking me how to read someone else’s tags.
- New products and new players are arriving too…
- If you don’t – well… you will always have self service. If you do there’s a whole new world out there…
- It’s not too late, and your supplier – if they signed the Alliance statement – has already committed to helping you migrate.