Organisation of work on labeling of the book collection with RFID tags in the department of organisation of the basic collection of the Central scientific library named after Yakub Kolas of the NAS of Belarus

Abstract

The article focuses on the use of RFID technologies in the library, standard operating procedures of work with RFID tags in the Department of Organisation of the Basic Collection and assessment of the results of the RFID system implementation. The author describes hands-on experience of labeling a large book collection (723 799 books) with RFID tags as part of RFID technology introduction into the practice of the Department of Organisation of the Basic Collection of the Central Scientific Library named after Yakub Kolas of the NAS of Belarus (the CSL of the NAS of Belarus). The relevance of the issue is explained by the fact that this is an innovative activity for Belarus. This information may be used by other libraries in the process of decision making about the implementation of RFID technologies and evaluation of such project. The article reveals essential conditions that have an impact on the convenience of working with the RFID system, and describes step-by-step process of work with RFID tags of a librarian — an employee of the Department of Organisation of the Basic Collection. The author’s aim is to share practical experience, to describe the discovered advantages and disadvantages of RFID tags and their impact on daily work. The research results show that in the course of RFID technology implementation the library received a number of positive results related not only to automation, but also standard library process procedures. Full-featured use of the RFID systems capabilities in the long-term allows developing library services making use of existing experience and the latest achievements, as well as facilitates integration into the modern environment.