Augmented Reality App for Shelf Reading

Story at FastCompany with more info:
That Hot Librarian Fantasy? A New App Makes it Even Hotter

April 7, 2011 by Uncategorized 12

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12 Responses

  1. Anonymous says:
    April 7, 2011 at 8:07 pm

    I’m still unimpressed. (as I was 2 wks ago when this 1st posted)
    what if the book is on the wrong shelf or in the wrong aisle or on the wrong floor? does that green arrow fly through the air to direct me where to go?

    Reply
    • Bibliofuture says:
      April 7, 2011 at 8:35 pm

      Not previously posted
      I just manually went through the last two weeks of LISNEWS stories and I did not see this story. Google also does a pretty good job of indexing LISNEWS and a search for “LISNEWS augmented reality” and “LISNEWS shelf reading” only brought up the story for today.

      Will not be shocked if I missed the story somehow but how about providing a link to that previous story.

      In regards to your comment about the book being on the wrong floor or the wrong aisle I don’t see what problem you have. The app tells you the book is in the wrong place. You look at the call number on the spine and you take the book to where it goes.

      Reply
  2. Anonymous says:
    April 8, 2011 at 2:28 am

    if I need an app to tell me it’s in the wrong place…
    then clearly, I don’t have any idea where it goes…. (!) but if I can read the call numbers, then I don’t need the app… catch-22… and maybe I saw the video someplace else…

    Reply
    • Anonymous says:
      April 8, 2011 at 9:46 pm

      Comment somewhere else
      >>and maybe I saw the video someplace else…

      Then maybe you should comment somewhere else

      Reply
  3. Anonymous says:
    April 8, 2011 at 9:16 am

    Nice idea but
    It’s so much slower than someone actually just looking. Also it would need another tag to be added to all the books and other library items.

    I do like it though, and I like the idea. Better for a what is where system but then isn’t that what RFID does perfectly well anyway?

    I can see it being better for some non-traditional materials, such as equipment or maybe even office equipment!

    Reply
  4. Anonymous says:
    April 8, 2011 at 1:40 pm

    5 seconds
    So you know how to shelf read? Good for you. I think there are a few people reading this post that do not even know what shelf reading is. I think from the comments that they think shelf reading is just used to find a book. They do not understand that shelf reading is the process of checking that all your books are in the correct place.

    In many large academic libraries student workers are used for shelf reading. The quality of the shelf reading by these students can be highly questionable. But let us set aside students and look at librarians that know how to do shelf reading. Take this test. We have twenty books on a shelf. You have seconds to tell me how many errors are on this shelf and what the errors are. Need more than 5 seconds? Well the app software is already done telling me how many errors there are.

    The other thing with the software is that is does not get bored. Search the web for “shelf reading” and you will find directions that libraries have on their website for shelf reading. The directions often say that people will only shelf read for 20 minutes. Why is this? Because after 20 minutes people get bored and stop doing a good job.

    You have 5 seconds to tell how many books are out of order and what they are:

    1 PZ7.H368Su2006
    2 PZ7.H874T68x180u
    3 PZ7.K6232Dia
    4 PZ7.K6232Las2009
    5 PZ7.K6232Ug2010
    6 PZ7.L5385W71973
    7 PZ7.L43675Cr2004
    8 PZ7.L5215Pow2007
    9 PZ7.L5215Voi2006
    10 PZ7.L58474Ch2004
    11 PZ7.L61626Im
    12 PZ7.L87855Iae2010
    13 PZ7.L87855Iae2010
    14 PZ7.M4784675A12005
    15 PZ7.M5717515Ec2007
    16 PZ7.M5717515Br2008
    17 PZ7.M5717515Tw2005
    18 PZ7.M5717515Tw2006
    19 PZ7.M57188
    20 PZ7.M63915Ri1997

    Reply
  5. Anonymous says:
    April 11, 2011 at 8:39 am

    Is one of those a cookery
    Is one of those a cookery book in the Sports section?
    Because then I think I’d have a damn good idea which book is in the wrong place.
    If you’re using a weird system involving ‘PZ7.M4784675A12005’ rather than one that people actually know how else do you expect to have people expect it? Try the same question with Dewey or LOC (you know, that people actually use?) and it’s blatnetly obvious.
    Don’t like criticism do you!

    Reply
    • Anonymous says:
      April 11, 2011 at 12:46 pm

      LOC
      >>Try the same question with Dewey or LOC

      Hey Sparky. The numbers are LOC. You cannot even identify what call number system is being used you should not be commenting.

      Reply
  6. Anonymous says:
    April 11, 2011 at 2:08 pm

    LOL!
    LOL!

    Reply
  7. Anonymous says:
    April 12, 2011 at 5:23 pm

    What about other uses?
    Sure, you may be able to perform this particular function faster with an RFID device. But what if this were adapted into a patron app?

    Patron looks up handful of titles in the catalog, goes to the shelf, and lets the app flag the right books. Once again, there are other ways to do this. People have been finding library books by spine label for ages. But for a teen trying to pick the right manga volume from the dozens of Clamp books that look practically the same on the spine, an app like this could be the [like] coolest thing ev-er.

    And for finding the right picture book among all those narrow spines, it’s a godsend for the mom who’s chasing three kids around the children’s section.

    Other ideas of how to use something like this?

    Reply
  8. Anonymous says:
    April 12, 2011 at 7:30 pm

    What about other uses?
    Hey–Like that a lot.
    Agree that it seems MUCH harder to use than RFID for reading shelves but I really like the idea of adapting it as an open APP to improve the UX and discovery!
    Barbara Genco
    Adjunct @ Pratt Institute SILS

    Reply
  9. Anonymous says:
    April 14, 2011 at 2:28 pm

    ‘Patron looks up handful of
    ‘Patron looks up handful of titles in the catalog, goes to the shelf, and lets the app flag the right books.’

    Now that I like the sound of.
    Although if it’s on a normal sized book the title is often viewable so should be visible (saying that the examples on the video include some bad cursive font on a book).

    Or how about any books on the related subject being highlighted as you walk through the stacks? eg asian influences could be seen in religion, cookery, politics, geography etc.

    Reply

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