Comments on: Self-issue at the Library and information show http://informationtakesover.co.uk/2007/04/self-issue-at-the-library-and-information-show/ Rocketing through library space... Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:42:32 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Dave Pattern http://informationtakesover.co.uk/2007/04/self-issue-at-the-library-and-information-show/comment-page-1/#comment-9974 Dave Pattern Fri, 20 Apr 2007 18:54:12 +0000 http://informationtakesover.co.uk/archives/2007/04/19/self-issue-at-the-library-and-information-show/#comment-9974 Hi Tim We converted around 300,000 items in less than 11 weeks, using 4 portable workstations (which were really tables on wheels with a PC plonked on top) with a team of 3 or 4 students per workstation. The workstations were wheeled close to the shelves and then 1 or 2 students would load book trolleys, another would add the tag, and then the student at the PC would program the tag by scanning the barcode. Once they got into the swing of it, they were able to go like the clappers! We asked Intellident to modify their software so that it logged the barcode of each converted item into a CSV file. Then, when the conversion was complete, we were able to identify around 18,000 items that were down as being available on the catalogue, but weren't handled (i.e. it's likely they have gone a.w.o.l.) -- seeing as we'd never done a full stockcheck before in the last 10 years, that's not a bad figure. We had the Paragons set up on the main counter for about 2 weeks before we went live. In the end, we had to cordon them off, as the students were attracted to the neon blue light like flies to a bug zapper :-D We've always pushed self-issue since we implemented 3M units about 5 years ago, and we regularly got in excess of 85% of all circ transactions via self service even with the slow 3M units. That figure has gone up a little since we implemented RFID, but what has vastly improved is the speed of transactions. With the 3M units, it was common to see 10 to 20 students queuing at peak times, but I can't honestly remember seeing more than 5 queuing at a time since the Paragons went in. Another big plus is that fines can be paid off with the units. We had concerns about the accessibility of the full sized units, so we also purchased one of the shorter units (which was the one running the animal icons at LiS). Strangely, our wheelchair users seem to prefer using the full sized units, and able bodied students seem to like the using the shorter unit... it does like kinda cute and maybe the students feel sorry for it :-D Actually, now I think about it, it's more likely that the students are just being lazy -- the shorter unit is the closest to the exit! Hi Tim

We converted around 300,000 items in less than 11 weeks, using 4 portable workstations (which were really tables on wheels with a PC plonked on top) with a team of 3 or 4 students per workstation.

The workstations were wheeled close to the shelves and then 1 or 2 students would load book trolleys, another would add the tag, and then the student at the PC would program the tag by scanning the barcode. Once they got into the swing of it, they were able to go like the clappers!

We asked Intellident to modify their software so that it logged the barcode of each converted item into a CSV file. Then, when the conversion was complete, we were able to identify around 18,000 items that were down as being available on the catalogue, but weren’t handled (i.e. it’s likely they have gone a.w.o.l.) — seeing as we’d never done a full stockcheck before in the last 10 years, that’s not a bad figure.

We had the Paragons set up on the main counter for about 2 weeks before we went live. In the end, we had to cordon them off, as the students were attracted to the neon blue light like flies to a bug zapper :-D

We’ve always pushed self-issue since we implemented 3M units about 5 years ago, and we regularly got in excess of 85% of all circ transactions via self service even with the slow 3M units.

That figure has gone up a little since we implemented RFID, but what has vastly improved is the speed of transactions. With the 3M units, it was common to see 10 to 20 students queuing at peak times, but I can’t honestly remember seeing more than 5 queuing at a time since the Paragons went in.

Another big plus is that fines can be paid off with the units.

We had concerns about the accessibility of the full sized units, so we also purchased one of the shorter units (which was the one running the animal icons at LiS). Strangely, our wheelchair users seem to prefer using the full sized units, and able bodied students seem to like the using the shorter unit… it does like kinda cute and maybe the students feel sorry for it :-D

Actually, now I think about it, it’s more likely that the students are just being lazy — the shorter unit is the closest to the exit!

]]> By: Tim Hodson http://informationtakesover.co.uk/2007/04/self-issue-at-the-library-and-information-show/comment-page-1/#comment-9969 Tim Hodson Fri, 20 Apr 2007 13:57:35 +0000 http://informationtakesover.co.uk/archives/2007/04/19/self-issue-at-the-library-and-information-show/#comment-9969 Thanks Dave, The paragon units are the ones on my shopping list - except I am not keeper of the purses, which could be a problem. How was the change over to RFID - apart from being a mass unshelve-stick-scan-save-shelve operation? Thanks Dave,
The paragon units are the ones on my shopping list – except I am not keeper of the purses, which could be a problem.

How was the change over to RFID – apart from being a mass unshelve-stick-scan-save-shelve operation?

]]> By: Dave Pattern http://informationtakesover.co.uk/2007/04/self-issue-at-the-library-and-information-show/comment-page-1/#comment-9967 Dave Pattern Fri, 20 Apr 2007 12:55:07 +0000 http://informationtakesover.co.uk/archives/2007/04/19/self-issue-at-the-library-and-information-show/#comment-9967 Hi Tim Not sure if the comments will allow me to paste images, but here goes... <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/davepattern/465424998/" title="Photo Sharing" rel="nofollow"></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/davepattern/465424680/" title="Photo Sharing" rel="nofollow"></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/davepattern/355866042/" title="Photo Sharing" rel="nofollow"></a> We've had the Paragon RFID units since September and our users (and staff) love them -- they're incredibly easy to use. The bottom photo is Sarah (one of the librarians at the Barnsley LRC) giving her Paragon a quick clean ;-) Hi Tim

Not sure if the comments will allow me to paste images, but here goes…

We’ve had the Paragon RFID units since September and our users (and staff) love them — they’re incredibly easy to use. The bottom photo is Sarah (one of the librarians at the Barnsley LRC) giving her Paragon a quick clean ;-)

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