It will cost Independence Township $90,000, but a new radio frequency identification system is expected to save personnel costs over time and make current operations more efficient.
The board of trustees approved half the expense out of the 2003 budget on Tuesday, Sept. 2, with the remainder expected to come from the 2004 budget.
Library Director Mollie Lynch said RFID is a system of adhesive tags with a programmable chip and antenna. The chip holds an item’s indentifying information, and the antenna transmits the information to a receiver at the circulation station.
The library currently uses a computerized scanner wand for each individual item checked in and out, but the RFID system can read multiple items in one motion.
“We’ll no longer have to open up every book,” Lynch said. “This will speed up circulation greatly.”
The plan includes an agreement to allow the manufacturer, 3M, to run tests of the new system. Lynch said the company sales representative “has been wonderful to work with” and the test agreement has resulted in some discounts to be applied in the second year of implementation.
Lynch said there is increasing action at the circulation desk, and the RFID system will help them manage their third consecutive year of double-digit growth. In 2002, more than 300,000 items were circulated, with each item handled three times (checkout, checkin and shelving).
The new system will allow the library to absorb an additional 30 percent increase without new staff.
“This could be a revolutionary way of dealing with the high volume of customer clientele at the library,” Trustee Larry Rosso said. “It looks very cost efficient. It’s going to serve us very well.”
Lynch admitted there will still be slower handling of a “fast-growing” collection of CDs and DVDs, which are kept in security boxes and must be opened individually at checkout.
Ongoing costs will include the RFID tag for new materials (currently 82 cents each), software and equipment maintenance fees.