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Recent Trends in Library Management System: RFID Technology

Introduction:

            New technologies have always been of interest for libraries, both for the potential of increasing the quality of service and for improving efficiency of operations. At the present time, when libraries of all kinds (public, academic, special, research) are facing economic hardships, the overwhelming reason for considering new technologies is the potential for cost saving in the operations and the management of material flows. Radio frequency identification (RFID) is the technology that is slated to replace Barcodes in library applications. It is a form of identification that is contact-less and does not require line of sight. The technology though new to libraries, has been in use in other sectors i.e. in retail and warehousing applications since 1980s. Libraries began using RFID systems to replace the electro-magnetic and Barcode systems in late 1990s. Approximately 130 libraries in North America are using RFID systems, but hundreds more are considering it ^[1]. As of mid-2007, an estimated 600 libraries with as many as 850 facilities were using RFID systems. It promises to streamline operations by enabling faster self-checkout and self-returns, improving shelf management and inventory control, and providing better theft protection. The RFID solution is a revolutionary application of automatic identification and data capture.

What is RFID?

            RFID is an acronym stands for Radio Frequency Identification. RFID uses wireless radio communications for unique identification of people or assets. It is a technology that allows an item, for example, a library book to be tracked and communicated by radio waves. This technology is similar in concept of a cell phone. RFID is a combination of radio frequency and microchip. The use of RFID technology promises to improve library operations by increasing the efficiency of library transactions and improving services to library users. As libraries adopt the use of tiny Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags for tracking their assets, it is helpful for inventory of hundreds of thousands of items. This can be done in a day instead of months. Many libraries are adopting or in the process of adopting RFID technology to automate library circulation, inventory management and security control. RFID allows checking out and returning library property automatically at any time of the day. It speeds up checkouts, keeps collection in better order. Besides speeding up checkouts, keeping collection in better order, RFID promise to provide better control against theft, non-returns and miss filling of a library’s assets.

RFID System Components and its applications:

RFID Tags:

The heart of the system is the RFID tag, which can be fixed inside a book’s back cover or directly onto CDs and videos. This tag is equipped with a programmable chip and an antenna. Each paper-thin tag contains an engraved antenna and a microchip with a capacity of at least 64 bits. There are three types of tags: “read only”, “WORM,” and “read/write” ^[2]. “Tags are “read only” if the identification is encoded at the time of manufacture and not rewritable. “WORM” (Write-Once-Read-Many) tags are programmed by the using organization, but without the ability to rewrite them later. “Read/write tags,” which are chosen by most libraries, can have information changed or added. In libraries that use RFID, it is common to have part of the read/write tag secured against rewriting, e.g., the identification number of the item.

Readers:

RFID readers or receivers are composed of a radio frequency module, a control unit and an antenna to interrogate electronic tags via radio frequency (RF) communication ^[3]. The reader powers an antenna to generate an RF field. When a tag passes through the field, the information stored on the chip in the tag is interpreted by the reader and sent to the server, which, in turn, communicates with the integrated library system when the RFID system is interfaced with it. RFID exit gate sensors (readers) at exits are basically two types. One type reads the information on the tag(s) going by and communicates that information to a server. The server, after checking the circulation database, turns on an alarm if the material is not properly checked out. Another type relies on a “theft” byte in the tag that is turned on or off to show that the item has been charged or not, making it unnecessary to communicate with the circulation database.

Readers in RFID library are used in the following ways ^[4]:

Conversion station: where library data is written to the tag.

• Staff workstation at circulation: used to charge and discharge library materials.

• Self check-out station: used to check out library materials without staff assistance.

• Self check-in station: used to check in library materials without staff assistance.

• Exit sensors: to verify that all material leaving the library has been checked out.

• Book-drop reader: used to automatically discharge library materials and reactivate security.

• Sorter and conveyor: automated system for returning material to proper area of library.

• Hand-held reader: used for inventorying and verifying that material is shelved correctly.

Antenna:

The antenna produces radio signals to activate the tag and read and write data to it. Antennas are the channels between the tag and the reader, which controls the system’s data acquisitions and communication. The electromagnetic field produced by an antenna can be constantly present when multiple tags are expected continually. Antennas can be built into a doorframe to receive tag data from person’s things passing through the door.

Server:

The server is the heart of some comprehensive RFID systems. It is the communications gateway among the various components. It receives the information from one or more of the readers and exchanges information with the circulation database. Its software includes the SIP/SIP2 (Session Initiation Protocol), APIs (Applications Programming Interface) NCIP (National Circulation Interchange Protocol) or SLNP necessary to interface it with the integrated library software but no library vendor has yet fully implemented NCIP approved by NISO ^[5]. The server typically includes a transaction database so that reports can be produced.

Optional Components:

Optional RFID system includes the following three components ^[6]:

1. RFID Label Printer

2. Handheld Reader

3. External Book Return

4. RFID label Printer

          

RFID Management System Profiting Library:

RFID can provide economic and cost effective solutions to many key issues faced by libraries today.

• The significant advantage of RFID system is the non-contact, non-line-of-sight nature of technology. Tags can be read through a variety of substances such as book cover, plastic materials irrespective of any orientation and other visually or environmentally challenging conditions, where barcodes or other optically read technologies would be useless. RFID tags can also be read in challenging circumstances at remarkable speeds, in most cases responding in less than 100 milliseconds.
• The read/write capability of a passive RFID system is also a significant advantage in interactive applications such as work-in-process or maintaining tracking. Though it is a costlier technology (compared with barcode), RFID can become indispensable for a wide range of automated data collection and identification applications that would not be possible otherwise. One important point for library productivity is that the whole process is significantly less time consuming than with barcode and magnetic strip system; therefore long lines can be avoided and fewer stations will be needed for the same process.
• Libraries are suffering from budget shortfalls as never before. With cuts from state and local governments, it is difficult for libraries to keep the library staffed and open round the clock. RFID is seen as a way to address the staff shortages.
• The self-service component of RFID system enables members to checkout materials without staff assistance. Self service systems can become very popular with both members and staff. RFID self-check systems allow members to check-in or check-out several, rather than just one, books at a time. Self- check systems reduce the number of staff needed at the circulation desk.
• With RFID-enabled tools, inventory-related tasks can be done in a fraction of time as with barcode readers. A whole shelf of books can be read by the reader with one sweep of the portable reader which then reports which books are missing or miss-shelved. For archives handling sensitive materials, the ability to inventory items without handling them is an additional benefit. Scanning shelves at the rate of 10-plus items per second, the portable hand held makes staff taking possible for libraries that in the past could never find time to take proper inventory. The reader may also be used to search for items that may have been miss-shelved.
• Sorting can be accomplished automatically with RFID. As books are dropped into the book drop, the reader reads the tag and uses the automatic sorting system to return the book back to the shelves, the stacks or the hold area.
• Security is another aspect of library operations that may be greatly improved with RFID-based security systems. Rather than purchasing additional tags for security, a single tag can be used for identifying items and securing them. As members leave the library, the tags are read are read to ensure that the item has been checked out. The integrated camera-cum-SMS feature will help in minimizing the security staff as the staff would not be needed to be at the exit always to check when the GATE sounds alarm.
• The technology allows for greatly improved services for members especially in the area of the self-checkout, it allows for more efficient use of professional staff, and may reduce repetitive stress injuries for library workers.
• RFID frees librarians to take on a bigger role. The time saved enables librarians to spend more time educating users in how to make the best use of the materials located physically in the library as well as electronic journals and databases licensed for access from the library.
• With the RFID system in place, a Librarian can at any point of time draw data analysis from library information system. It would help in analyzing borrowing patterns of individual users as well as that of entire lot. It will also help in analyzing the type of materials frequently borrowed by users.

Advantages of RFID systems:

1)         Rapid charging/discharging:

The use of RFID reduces the amount of time required to perform circulation operations. The most significant time savings are attributable to the fact that information can be read from RFID tags much faster than from barcodes. That is due to the fact that the tags can be read regardless of item orientation or alignment (i.e., the technology does not require line-of-sight or a fixed plane to read tags as do older technologies) and that several items in a stack can be read at the same time. Finally, RFID tags can be read from distances of up to 24 inches—distances far greater than the use of light pens and barcode wands used with EM technology. That is what makes RFID systems not only faster, but able to support electronic inventorying with handheld devices.

2)         Simplified patron self-charging/discharging:

For patrons using self-charging, there is a marked improvement because they do not have to carefully place materials within a designated template and they can charge several items at the same time. Patron self-discharging, which can be achieved by installing readers in book drops or with self-discharge stations, shifts work from staff to patrons.

3)         High reliability:

The readers are highly reliable. Several vendors of RFID library systems claim an almost 100 percent detection rate using RFID tags. Anecdotal evidence suggests that is the case whenever a reader is within 18 inches of the tags, but there appears to be no statistical data to support the claims. RFID systems encode the circulation status on the RFID tag. This is done by designating a bit as the “theft” bit and turning it off at time of charge and on at time of discharge. If the material that has not been properly charged is taken past the exit sensors, an immediate alarm is triggered. Another option is to use both the “theft” bit and the online interface to an integrated library system, the first to signal an immediate alarm and the second to identify what has been taken.

4)         High-speed electronic inventorying:

A unique advantage of RFID systems is their ability to scan books on the shelves without tipping them out or removing them to access the barcodes. A hand-held inventory reader can be moved rapidly across a shelf of books at a distance of approximately six inches to read all of the unique identification information. Using wireless technology, it is possible not only to update the inventory, but also to identify items which are out of proper order.

5)         Interfaces with materials handling systems:

Another application of RFID technology is an interface with a materials handling system, a system that consists of conveyors and sorting equipment that can move library materials and sort them mechanically by category into separate bins or onto separate carts. This significantly reduces the amount of staff time required to ready materials for re-shelving. Given the high cost of the equipment, this application has not been widely used.

6)         Long tag life:

Finally, RFID tags last longer than barcodes because nothing comes into contact with them. Most RFID vendors claim a minimum of 100,000 transactions before a tag may need to be replaced.

Disadvantages of RFID Systems:

1)         High cost:

The major disadvantage of RFID technology is its cost. While the readers used to read the information are comparable in cost to the components of a typical EM or RF theft detection system, typically $2,500 (Rs/1,15,000) to $7,500 (Rs/3,45,000) each, the tags are far more expensive than barcodes, EM strips, or RF targets. As of mid-2007, RFID tags were still approximately $.50 (Rs/23) each—a price which random polling of librarians by the author has determined is the key to their serious consideration of the technology.

2)         Vulnerability to compromise:

It is possible to compromise an RFID system by wrapping the protected material in two to three layers of ordinary household foil to block the radio signal. Clearly, bringing household foil into a library using RFID would represent premeditated theft, just as bringing a magnet into a library using EM technology would be. It is also possible to compromise an RFID system by placing two items against one another so that one tag exactly overlays another. That may cancel out the signals. This requires knowledge of the technology and careful alignment.

3)         Removal of exposed tags:

3M, which recommends EM for security and RFID for tracking, argues that EM strips are concealed in the spines (30 percent of customers) or the gutters (70 percent of customers) of books and are, therefore, difficult to find and remove; while RFID tags are typically affixed  to the inside back cover and are exposed for removal.

4)         Exit sensor problems:

While the short-range readers used for circulation charge and discharge and inventorying appear to read the tags 100 percent of the time, the performance of the exit sensors is more problematic.

5)         Perceived Invasion of Patron Privacy:

There is a perception among some that RFID is a threat to patron privacy. It is argued that the tags contain patron information and/or title information; and that the tags can be read from a distance after someone has taken the materials to home or office. Because of the attention that has been focused on privacy issues, it is important to educate library staff and patrons about the RFID technology used in libraries before implementing a program.

6)         Reader collision:

One problem meet with RFID is the signal from one reader can interfere with the signal from another where coverage overlaps. This is called reader collision. One way to avoid the problem is to use a technique called time division multiple access, or TDMA. In simple terms, the readers are instructed to read at different times, rather than both trying to read at the same time. This ensures that they don't interfere with each other. But it means any RFID tag in an area where two readers overlap will be read twice.

7)         Lack of Standard:

The tags used by library RFID vendors are not compatible even when they conform to the same standards because the current standards only seek electronic compatibility between tags and readers. The pattern of encoding information and the software that processes the information differs from vendor to vendor; therefore, a change from one vendor’s system to the other would require retagging all items or modifying the software.

Conclusion:

It is quite clear from the above discussion that an RFID system will be a comprehensive system that addresses both the security and materials tracking needs of a library. This system will provide members with an opportunity to self-serve, allowing staff to spend more time assisting members with things they absolutely need help with. RFID will help becoming more efficient, economical system. It is anticipated that the system’s speed and user-friendly features will mean that the vast majority of the circulation will soon be handled without staff intervention. Developments in RFID technology continue to yield larger memory capacities, wider reading ranges, and faster processing. The interest in RFID as a solution to optimize further the automation and tracking of documents are gathering momentum at an increasing pace, with more libraries joining the trails.

“RFID is increasing in popularity among libraries, as the early adopters of this technology have shown that it makes good economic sense, both for large and small libraries.”

References:

[1]        Molnar, D., Wagner, D.A. (2004). Privacy and security in library RFID: Issues, practices and architectures. Retrieved from

http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~dmolnar/library.pdf

[2]        Boss. R. W. (2003). RFID technology for libraries. [Monograph] Library Technology

Reports.

[3]        Sarma, E. S. Weis, S. A., Engels, D.W. (2002). White paper: RFID systems, security & privacy implications. Cambridge, MA: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, AUTO-ID Center.

[4]        Boss. R. W. (2003). RFID technology for libraries. [Monograph] Library Technology

Reports.

[5]        Koppel, T. (2004). Standards in Libraries: What’s Ahead: a guide for Library Professional about the Library Standards of Today and the Future? The Library Corporation. Retrieved from http://www.tlcdelivers.com/tlc/pdf/standardswp.pdf.

[6]        BIBLIOTHECA RFID Library Systems AG (2003) RFID Technology Overview. Retrieved from www.bibliotheca-rfid.com