Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) systems are a technology many libraries use to make materials handling more efficient and to reduce staff workload. If you've never heard of RFID, you may want to start with our RFID Primer which provides a thorough introduction to RFID use in a library context.
Library RFID systems are composed of two primary components: tags and tag readers. The tags are placed inside library material. The readers are placed at staff workstations, self-check machines, and built into security gates. The readers are used to read the information on the tag. One piece of information on the tag is the item’s bar code number. In other words, the readers are used much like barcode scanners are used: to check items in and out, put items in transit to fill holds, and to verify that items have been properly checked out at each library exit.
While RFID technology has been available for a decades, it has only been used in libraries for the last 10 years or so. The slow update in libraries are in part because of the price of the tags and the associated equipment required to make use of the technology and concerns about privacy.
In addition, there has been an ongoing problem with standards, or the lack thereof. This has resulted in vendor lock-in for largely proprietary systems until very recently.
Because this technology is still in flux to a large degree, check out our Posts on This Topic and Web Resources along the right column to track the latest developments.