It has been said that getting East Africans to read might be one of our biggest literacy challenges. Technology might be able to lend us a hand in overcoming it
You have used the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology if you have ever used an access card to enter a building or to unlock a gate. Radio Frequency Identification, though similar to barcodes is differentiated by the options it offers such as being able to read hundreds of tags in seconds. RFID technology is a wireless technology mainly used for automatic detection, tracking, and identification of items and people using radio waves.
Using the RFID in libraries rather than scanning each item as it is checked out individually allows patrons to place a stack of books on an RFID-enabled pallet and check them all out in a single scan. RFID is also used in libraries to help staff sort by genre.
The Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA), based in Nairobi, is one of the few Universities in East Africa that has implemented RFID technology.
What are the benefits of adopting the RFID technology?
RFID offers improved quality of services and higher satisfaction among library patrons and public.
It offers reliable security of information resource areas.
Efficient circulation of services (borrowing and returning of library resources), reducing queues at the front desk through self-check borrowing stations.
Offers an innovative use of management library system to provide efficient library services (payment of library dues e.g. membership, and overdue fines)
If applied, the system enables the generation of various management reports (e.g., popular books, genres, and so on).
Offers the ability to mount efficient inventory (asset) management of library collection
Challenges that the university faced implementing the system;
The maintenance of RFID technology is much higher than traditional barcodes.
Inadequate expertise and professional advice. Very few libraries have implemented it in Kenya
Unreliable power supply. Effective use of RFID requires a consistent power supply.
Implementation requires the following
- RFID Standards and appropriate software and hardware:
- Training of staff:
- Process planning
- Privacy concerns of patrons:
In as much as the CUEA acknowledges some negative experiences such as removal of exposed RFID tags from books (due to vandalism or attempted the theft of books) and high cost of maintenance of the technology, RFID is still one of the fastest and most beneficial technologies being adopted by businesses today and that RFID advantages far outweigh its disadvantages.