RFID on the Move

David DormanBy David Dorman
American Libraries Columnist
ddorma@ltnet.ltls.org

Library consultant for the Lincoln Trail Libraries System in Champaign, Illinois.

Column for October 2003

Interest in implementing RFID security systems is growing rapidly in libraries of all types and sizes. The online RFID Journal describes the technology as follows:

 

“Radio frequency identification, or RFID, is a generic term for technologies that use radio waves to automatically identify individual items. There are several methods of identifying objects using RFID, but the most common is to store a serial number that identifies a product, and perhaps other information, on a microchip that is attached to an antenna (the chip and the antenna together are called an RFID transponder or an RFID tag). The antenna enables the chip to transmit the identification information to a reader. The reader converts the radio waves returned from the RFID tag into a form that can then be passed on to computers that can make use of it.”

 

Bibliotheca, the top supplier of RFID library systems in Europe, sold its first RFID system in North America this past July. The company also sold the Miami-Dade School System its radio frequency (RF) security system.

 

While both RF and RFID use tags to broadcast radio waves, the RF tags are much less expensive because their only function is to transmit a signal when they are “armed.” RFID chips, on the other hand, can transmit the unique ID number of the item they are attached to, as well as the item’s security status. Due to the simplicity of RF security systems, one vendor’s tags can be used with another vendor’s equipment. For example, the Miami-Dade School System was able to continue using its existing Checkpoint RF tags with its new Bibliotheca equipment.

 

Bibliotheca systems and supplies are available directly from the company or from Demco. In August at the annual IFLA conference in Berlin, Dynix announced that it was also becoming a reseller of Bibliotheca RFID systems. While Bibliotheca clearly represents an additional RFID choice for libraries in North America, Checkpoint remains the leader in RFID sales with over 100 installations.

 

While interest is high, actual RFID sales continue to be modest. One reason is the cost of RFID tags for library use: They have remained between 60 and 90 cents each for several years running. Another reason is that significant issues of interoperability and standards remain unresolved.

 

When a member library of the Lincoln Trail Libraries System (LTLS) in Champaign, Illinois, where I had been working for the past six and a half years, indicated an interest in implementing an RFID system, I looked for some background information in the library literature on what the implications might be for the other 90 LTLS members. Along with this library, they use the consortium’s shared library management system. However, I could find nothing that discussed implementing RFID in a consortial environment. To fill this void, I wrote a brief paper in August.

FRBR Advances

Both RLG and OCLC are gearing up to implement the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records in their respective bibliographic utilities. The RLG effort is part of a larger project, RedLightGreen, which is funded by the Mellon Foundation. Its goal is to completely recast the RLG catalog to make it a more effective research tool for undergraduates. The project is using Recommind MindServer data-mining technology and the ideas expressed in the FRBR framework to completely remake the catalog. The project has moved into a pilot phase; the revamped catalog will be available at RedLightGreen. The service will be promoted at Columbia University, New York University, Swarthmore College, and the University of Minnesota. The official project website is at RLG’s RedLightGreen site, but the most up-to-date information can be found on a blog run by Judith Bush, Tuna Breath.

 

OCLC is taking a more measured and staged approach to FRBR implementation. In August the company released an algorithm developed by the OCLC Office of Research that is designed to bring all expressions of a work together. It can be freely viewed and downloaded. At this time OCLC has no plans to group manifestations together into unique expressions. “The cataloging data is just not there to support this yet,” said Thom Hickey, chief scientist for OCLC Research. OCLC expects to implement the algorithm on the FirstSearch view of WorldCat sometime in 2004.

Contracts and Agreements

Sirsi sales of Unicorn to:

Sirsi migration from DRA:

 

TLC sales of Library.Solution:

TLC migrations from BiblioFile:

 

Dynix sales of Horizon to:

 

Dynix migrations from Dynix ILS to Horizon:

 

Ex Libris sales of Aleph 500 to:

 

Endeavor sale of Voyager to:

 

GIS sale of Polaris to:

 

VTLS sales of Virtua to:

Announcements

 

Clarification: In the September issue we praised VTLS as the only vendor to have implemented Z39.50 natively. GIS let us know that its Polaris system has native Z39.50 support as well.