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Community Corner

Technology and Literature Converge at Dakota County Libraries

New radio frequency ID system streamlines book return process.

Wescott Library Circulation Manager Barbara Hanson has seen a lot of changes in her 25 years working at Wescott Library, having started her career back in the days when books were checked out by microfilming the cards stored in pockets in the front of books. 

The latest changes include the installation of a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) system. While a lot of what goes on at the library is still manual, the county library's new RFID system eliminates a large portion of that human intervention.

Dakota County libraries, including Wescott and Wentworth, have long had a conveyor system that would drop returned items into large bins. Those items then had to be manually checked in and sorted onto shelves based on their location in the library. 

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The completion of a grueling four-month project to put RFID tags in or on all of the library's materials has culminated in a significantly streamlined book return process.

It also makes check-out easier for patrons, who no longer have to line-up bar codes or position items just-so to scan.

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The Dakota County Library system was fully enabled with RFID technology sometime in mid-June.

"It really was a big process, but we had a great crew of temporary staff who did it," said Wentworth Library's manager, Maureen Bell. "They handled each and every item, and as you can imagine, that’s a lot."

Wentworth Library in West St. Paul was the first library in the system to complete the process, according to Bell.

"We really are pleased with it," said Bell.

 

"The process is amazing and it is exciting to see what this has done for us," said Hanson. "RFID was well worth the effort."

How RFID Works

When a returned book is placed on the belt within the library, or into the outdoor collection box, the conveyor starts up and the RFID system takes over. 

As materials roll over an RFID reader, the item is immediately removed from the library patron's record. Based on the type of item—for example, adult fiction books, children's books or movies—are routed and dropped into corresponding bins.

The bin system, essentially, is a pre-sort so items can be placed on shelving carts without needing to be manually categorize first.

Materials belonging to other Dakota County Library branches drop into a bin near a wall of crates, one for each branch, to be quickly sorted and shipped. 

Items that have to be manually handled include books for which there is a hold, the few items that still need RFID tags, or materials the RFID reader was unable to identify for various reasons. 

After items are returned, the library's computer system allows a pre-determined number of hours for reshelving and then automatically updates the item's location so patrons know it is available to be checked out. 

Hanson confirmed that the new system has decreased payroll costs. More importantly, it allows the library to get materials back into the hands of patrons much more quickly and efficiently.

Bell said that an additional benefit can be felt by the library staff, literally. Less handling of items in the process could add up to fewer repetitive stress injuries on the job.

Wescott Library by the numbers:

  • 2,000 to 3,000 items are returned each day
  • in June, 74,349 items were checked out
  • There were over 4,300 items with holds (requests from other locations) processed in July
  • 95 percent of materials are checked out via the self-check computers

Wentworth Library by the numbers:

  • 49,864 items were checked out in July
  • 53,395 items were checked in
  • There were 2,489 items with holds (requests from other locations) processed in July
  • 93 percent of items were checked out on self-check machines
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