Dear all

 

Apologies - for cross posting and for my email client cutting short the
previous post! (thanks for telling me so promptly Andrew!)

 

Last year's RFID survey scaled new heights with almost 500 replies from 19
different countries. At this year's SIG meeting in Helsinki it was suggested
that IFLA might provide translation support to help us reach an even more
international audience next year.

 

There are essentially two strands to the survey. The first looks at the
spread of the technology - and the increasingly diverse uses to which it is
being put in libraries. The second gathers feedback on supplier performance.


 

There are a number of difficulties in gathering the data - not least being
that the number of responses received is far lower than the 10,000+
libraries being claimed by suppliers to be using the technology. Obviously
the survey gains authority by increasing numbers.

 

In the past we have also sought the views of librarians that have not yet
invested in the technology - primarily to try and assess the degree of
understanding of issues surrounding its use among those about to spend their
valuable budgets!

 

Over the last year I've been in dialogue with a number of people about
improving the reach and accuracy of next year's survey and yesterday had
lunch with one of them, Marshall Breeding - owner and author of the Library
Technology Guides <http://www.librarytechnology.org/> website.

 

Marshall and I have often discussed the problems of gathering data and he,
like me, has struggled to gather information about RFID installations. We
are now considering pooling our resources to try and improve on this
situation.

 

Much of the information gathered in previous years has been of a somewhat
sensitive nature - especially about supplier performance - but is
nonetheless extremely valuable in assessing the real concerns of a
profession often struggling with the technology.

 

What I would like to propose therefore is that next year - in January 2013 -
we run two surveys. The first through Marshall's site to gather factual data
about the numbers of institutions using RFID and the second by me to gauge
performance and elicit opinions - as in previous years.

 

As most of last year's respondents subscribe to one or more of these lists
I'm eager to canvas your opinion on this proposal.

 

Thanks for your time

 

Mick

 

Library RFID Ltd

 

 <http://www.cilip.org.uk/rfid2012/programme/pages/default.aspx> Library
RFID Conference - November 15 2012, London

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