Dear colleagues,
(Apologies for cross posting.)
For the last three years I have been running an annual survey of RFID usage
in UK libraries. This began in response to encouragement from subscribers to
the JISC list <https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A0=LIB-RFID-UK>
that Nick Lewis of UEA and I manage but has grown into the largest survey of
RFID users in the country. Last year 244 individuals representing a total of
114 different organisations responded.
The information gathered is used for a variety of purposes. First and
foremost it provides a snapshot of the spread of the technology in one of
its most active markets - UK libraries. The survey also provides a valuable
resource for users to gain information about their supplier's performance.
Last year I sent individual reports to all users and their suppliers showing
their performance in key areas like reliability of equipment, speed of
response etc. All these reports contain statistical information only -
no-one is named! One service that I have been to provide from the results
has been to connect users with the same supplier, sharing similar issues, to
each other. This is only done with the consent of both parties - and only to
each other.
Finally it helps those of us trying to improve the way in which RFID
solutions operate, and particularly the ways in which they interoperate with
other systems, to establish where the areas that require closer attention
might be. Last year that lead to a major review of the communication
protocols used by RFID and Library Management Systems to exchange data and
transactions. That work is on-going and this year will bring an even more
interesting milestone as the (very) long awaited international standard for
a library data model is published (ISO 28560 <http://biblstandard.dk/rfid/>
). Many of you will know me to be a strong advocate for standards and with
all UK RFID suppliers poised to support the new UK data model
<http://www.bic.org.uk/e4libraries/11/RFID-/> we can expect some significant
progress - and possibly some upheaval - as the new standard is rolled out.
Purchasing options should become simpler - and cheaper - and we can expect
to see new providers entering what will become a more open UK market.
This, combined with the huge financial pressures being felt by library
managers in all sectors means there has possibly never been a more important
time to make the right technology decisions. The survey also seeks to
establish what we've already done, how successful we have been and what
those about to commit their organisations to RFID are expecting from their
investment. Please take a moment to complete it
<http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/VF6SSZ2> - it should take between 2 and 8
minutes.
Thanks very much, and a Happy New year!
Mick
Mick Fortune
m. +44 (0)7786 625544
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