Librarian should be aware that in most countries laws about privacy have
clear implications on which information to store on an RFID-tag. I do not
know the British regulations but all countries I have visited have the same
concern.
According to this it is not legal to store any information on the RFID-tag,
which is able to identify the media once it leaves the doors of the library.
The group behind ISO 28560-3 had this issue clear in mind when the standard
was made. Therefore, it is very clearly stated in ISO 28560-3 that supply
chain information must be deleted from the RFID-tag before the material is
made available for public.
A library should look to ISO 28560-3 when they consider which information
are relevant to store. ISO 28560-3 is made by professional suppliers with
many years of experience about RFID in libraries and therefore it was
possible to summarize all relevant data in the standard.
Best regards
P.V. Supa Oy Ltd
Ivar Thyssen
Export manager
-----Original Message-----
From: Discussion List for RFID in Libraries
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Mick Fortune
Sent: 24. april 2009 15:57
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: RFID tags with bibliographic data
Hello Helen
The question of "what goes on the tag" seems to feature in every tender
request I've ever seen. I think the answer depends how you view the RFID
component of your overall library system.
Some libraries view the RFID tag as simply a replacement for the barcode.
Often they use it because they are implementing self-service and believe
that using RFID is a pre-requisite for this function. In reality it's
perfectly possible to have self-service without RFID although there are some
additional advantages to using the former.
Once you have RFID tags in your items it's only natural to start thinking
about what else you could do with the tags - other than using them as a
barcode replacement - and that's where it all starts to get a bit confusing.
Any library that is using RFID (or barcodes for that matter) will, by
definition, also be using a library management system (LMS in the UK, ILS
most other places). The LMS will contain all the data about your items, your
staff and your clients. It is the LMS that will make the decisions about who
can borrow which items, whether fines or charges are owed etc. The RFID
system simply uses the barcodes or tags to tell the LMS what it is dealing
with and the LMS tells it what to do.
So all is well. No data is being changed on the tags (except the security
data, which is no concern of the LMS anyway) so there's no need to worry
about data synchronisation.
But many librarians, and some RFID companies (and indeed some of the newer
LMS players) have begun to think about changing all this. I had a email from
an RFID company only recently which told me that they were advising their
clients to add as much bibliographic data as possible to the tags. I have
also seen suggestions, on this list, that we should start adding "date last
circulated" or "number of times circulated" to the tags. One can see the
attraction of being able to query a shelf of books with an RFID device and
find out - without any reference to the LMS - which items should be weeded,
replaced or have additional copies purchased.
So there's a lot of momentum for change - and for adding extra data to tags.
I'm not entirely against this as I think there are ways in which LMS/ILS
providers can significantly improve their offerings by using tag potential,
but I think we'll make better progress if we all agree what data elements we
want to use and where on the tags we should store the data. That way when
you buy a new RFID system in the future you can have a reasonable
expectation that they'll be able to read your tags.
Having said that I doubt very much that I would include bibliographic data
on my list of things I want to add. For starters how would you decide which
of the two sets of data (tags and catalogue) contains the accurate bib data,
and how do you keep that data synchronised? And if you decide to change any
data entry (change of authority form of name for example) you will have to
make the change in the catalogue AND on the tag. (You don't have to do that
with barcodes!)
Most importantly, what benefits will data on tags give you as a librarian?
(i.e. how do you plan to use it?) I can see some benefit for an RFID company
as it might mean it's the only way they can display bib data, but at what
additional cost (in terms of workload) for you? You could alternatively have
a report generated that will extract the bib data from the catalogue and
store it on a stock management device. As you scan your shelves the unit
identifies the items by their barcode number and displays the bib content
from its own data store. There's no need for that data to also be stored on
the items themselves.
That's my quick answer (no really that's me being brief!). I will be writing
more on this on my blog after next week's CILIP and BIC meetings on Monday.
Since someone usually tells me I'm an idiot every time I post I'm confident
there's enough material here to inspire others to pitch in :-)
Have a good weekend
Mick
Mick Fortune
m. +44 (0)7786 625544 t. +44 (0)1865 727411
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Discussion List for RFID in Libraries [mailto:LIB-RFID-
> [log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of H.M.Jarvis
> Sent: 23 April 2009 11:01
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: RFID tags with bibliographic data
>
> Dear Mick,
> Thankyou for your response. I haven't heard from any other
> libraries that add bibliographic data to RFID tags, so I would be
> interested to know why you think it is not a good idea.
> Helen
>
> Helen Jarvis, Assistant Librarian (Senior Cataloguer)
> Collection Resources Management, Templeman Library
> University of Kent, Giles Lane, Canterbury, Kent CT2 7NU
> Tel. 01227 764000, ext. 3128
> [log in to unmask]
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Mick Fortune [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: 22 April 2009 13:49
> To: H.M.Jarvis
> Subject: RE: RFID tags with bibliographic data
>
> Dear Helen
>
> Would you like to post your question on the library RFID list as well
> (link below)? You may get a better response.
>
> So far as I am aware no-one is currently providing a service like this.
> I recently wrote an article for Nielsen suggesting that it might not be
> a very good idea but perhaps your situation suggests otherwise? Be glad
> to discuss this on the RFID list.
>
> Kind regards
>
> Mick
>
> Mick Fortune
> Library RFID Ltd
>
> m. +44 (0)7786 625544 t. +44 (0)1865 727411 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 Library RFID blog!
> http://www.mickfortune.com/Wordpress/?page_id=2
> Follow me on - http://twitter.com/mickfortune
>
>
>
>
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: A general Library and Information Science list for news and
> > discussion. [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of H.M.Jarvis
> > Sent: 22 April 2009 11:32
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Subject: RFID tags with bibliographic data
> >
> > Is anyone purchasing books supplied with RFID tags ready-populated
> with
> > bibliographic data?
> > If so, I would be interested to know more - how this fits into your
> > workflows, etc.
> >
> > Helen Jarvis, Assistant Librarian (Senior Cataloguer)
> > Collection Resources Management, Templeman Library
> > University of Kent, Giles Lane, Canterbury, Kent CT2 7NU
> > Tel. 01227 764000, ext. 3128
> > [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
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> > 04/21/09 16:48:00
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