Thanks to everyone who responded to my original query - I've tried to condense the responses suitably below:
Here in
Does anybody currently use or plan to use radio headsets in their libraries, and would they mind sharing their experience of any systems?
Essex are using wireless headsets for the staff in their Answers Direct service so that they can leave their work-station and go out into the library to use a reference source whilst still on the phone to the customer. This has proved useful not only in the fact that more enquiries can be dealt with at the first response but on a more practical level they are finding that the pile of reference books that used to build up every day in the Answers office is no longer a problem (people used to bring an item out with them to make the call back to the customer but postpone taking it back to the shelves).
Initially some of the staff felt rather conspicuous walking round the library whilst carrying on a conversation and with a bright blue LED flashing in their ear but they soon got used to it.
Library enquiry staff have cordless telephones to carry round with them between info pods – they would have liked to use the wireless headsets for them too but funds would not stretch that far. These phones have a belt clip so they’re not too encumbered by them.
Ellen Forsyth, State Library of New South Wales very kindly brought Vocera badges to my attention through a report she herself has written. Vocera badges are the size of a large USB drive, usually worn around the neck like a security tag, that enable voice communication with other staff. They run on a wireless network, work with voice commands and are often linked to telephone systems. They are extensively used in US hospitals and in
Ellen concludes: The use of Vocera badges and walkie talkies facilitates communication between staff in larger libraries. It allows more flexibility in rostering as more staff can be called upon to help the public very quickly without needing to be rostered to the desk just in case it becomes busy. It reduces the time staff have to spend locating each other in larger buildings, and these devices can provide security support very quickly. These are all important improvements for staff. The only Vocera implementation in libraries is in the
The link to the full report is http://www.valaconf.org.au/vala2008/papers2008/148_Forsyth_Final.pdf
Thanks also to David Tanner from
It appears that this is still very much a new development in the public sector, but research in retail where systems like this have been in use for some time would seem to be the next obvious step.
Thanks,
Andrew