Hi Catriona
I've taken the liberty of posting this message to the US and UK RFID lists as well since NFC is just another form of RFID operating at the same frequency as the HF tags in most of the world's library books (and using the same communication standards).
I did mention the potential - and the dangers - of NFC in relation to library stock in my review of the 5th Wildau Symposium on RFID at which I spoke last September. The final section on this page http://www.mickfortune.com/Wordpress/?p=891#more-891 relates to NFC.
Since then I have been contacted on several occasions by enthusiasts (mostly librarians) telling me about apps (freely available online) for android phones (more often NFC equipped) that can be used in conjunction with library tags. Many are concerned about the possibility that tag data can be altered by users or even - as was suggested in an episode of the popular US TV series "Bones" - used to introduce a computer virus to the library's management system.
At the "ChipsnMash" #mashlib event in Huddersfield in 2010 there were several examples of what could be done by using smartphones hooked up to RFID scanners to create new services. With NFC this becomes even simpler.
It is always worth remembering that data can be written to the tags just as easily as it can be read - by anyone with the right phone and an app.
Mick
Library RFID Ltd
m. +44 (0)7786 625544 t. +44 (0) 1865 522291 e. [log in to unmask] w. www.libraryrfid.co.uk
Join the UK list! http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A0=LIB-RFID-UK
Read the blog! http://www.mickfortune.com/Wordpress
-----Original Message-----
From: A general Library and Information Science list for news and discussion. [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Catriona MacIsaac
Sent: 28 January 2013 11:15
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Near Field Communication in libraries
Dear all,
Do any of you use Near Field Communcation (NFC) technology in your libraries for self-issue or for any other purpose? We are investigating it for use here at Glasgow and would appreciate any feedback from people who have experience of using it.
Please reply to me off-list and I will post a summary of the responses.
Many thanks,
Catriona
Catriona MacIsaac
Customer Services Manager
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