RFID Enabled Active Shelf May Signal
The Death of the Dewey Decimal System
Active Shelf System developed by Barcoding
Inc. can help locate and catalog any book on a library shelf in minutes
Melvil Dewey
(1851-1931)
Baltimore MD- October 29, 2007 – Barcoding
Inc. announced that their RFID
Active Shelf Inventory System may soon spell the end for the
Dewey Decimal System in libraries across the country. The shelf system,
recently awarded the MD Daily Record
Innovator of the Year Award, utilizes RFID technology to constantly
monitor the location of books and other media on library shelves.
Barcoding Inc. will be demonstrating their shelf system at this week’s Palinet07
Conference being held at the Baltimore Tremont Hotel + Convention
Center.
The 131 year old Dewey
Decimal system, invented in 1876 by Melvil Dewey, relies on
labeling books and classifying them primarily by subject relationships,
time, or type of materials, producing numbers at least three digits
long, but indeterminate in length. The resulting number determines
the order and location that books are placed on shelves.
Barcoding's Active Shelf can use either HF or UHF RFID tags to track
the location of each book on the shelf, and items can be classified
by genre, author, subject, or other characteristics much like you
see to today's bookstores. The software that runs the Active shelf
system can integrate with a library's ILS (Integrated Library System),
allowing customers to search for books and identify which shelf in
the library they are on, even if they are misplaced in a different
section.
Many libraries are adopting this technology to help track items
in areas with large circulation, including DVDs and CDs, as well
as reference areas where items are not checked out, but used within
the library.
"Librarians find this system particularly useful to monitor
reference books where the only way they know which items are being
frequently used, is by seeing which books are constantly left on
tables,” said Bill Poulsen, Director of RFID Integration for
Barcoding Inc. “With our system, we can tell how often books
are taken from shelves, and how long they are used. Now librarians
have the added knowledge of how often materials are used, and less
frequently used materials can be kept in storage rooms on a reserve
basis. This clears up valuable shelf space enabling libraries to
purchase more reference books that are pulled from the shelf most
often."
The main RFID reader can reside on one "master" shelf,
while the other shelves act as antennas, requiring nothing more than
a network cable to send information back and forth to the host system.
All of the shelves in the library can be set-up with three to four
inventory zones, so locating a particular book is quite easy.
"Many libraries are already tagging books for check-in and
check-out functionality, we are taking the technology another step
by letting them see where the books are in their library," added
Poulsen. "While most libraries are using HF tags, our shelf
is designed to work with either HF or UHF tags. The benefit of using
UHF tags is that they are nearly one-third the cost of the HF tag;
depending on a libraries circulation, and using UHF tags can save
enough money in tag cost alone to cover most of the infrastructure
costs. Implementing UHF tags and using our Active Shelf system nearly
pays for itself before a single book is put on the shelf."
While Barcoding's Active Shelf system doesn't spell immediate doom
for the Dewey Decimal System, it does give libraries an alternative
to using the 131 year old system, which enhances the customers experience
and helps them find a book without having to search through a card
catalog.
About Barcoding Inc.
Barcoding Inc. helps business and government organizations deploy
supply chain technology, including bar code scanners, wireless
terminals, mobile computers, RFID systems, and related software.
Clients include manufacturing, distribution, healthcare and warehousing
companies, and many state, local and federal agencies. Based in
Baltimore, Maryland, Barcoding has 16 office across North America.
European sales and customer service are handled through an office
in the Netherlands.
Please contact Jon Stroz, Director of Marketing, at 888.412.SCAN
(7226) x121 or jons@barcoding.com.
Learn more about Barcoding
Inc.'s RFID Enabled Active Shelf System
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For Further Information
Contact us for a complimentary evaluation of your needs.
Call Now: 888.412.7226
Our sales team will
answer all your questions
about inventory control and
automatic data collection.
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