More than 100 people filled the South Berkeley Senior Center Monday to debate the Berkeley Public Library’s practice of placing radio frequency identification devices (RFIDs) in books.
The library has already begun installing the $650,000 system, replacing bar codes on book covers with radio antennas. The forum, hosted by KQED’s Keven Guillory, featured dozens of library users and staff members who denounced the use of the devices.
Opponents charge that as scanners become more powerful and widespread, the technology will allow authorities to trace not just books, but library patrons as well. Others said they worried that the low level radio frequencies emitted by the tags might cause cancer. Berkeley Daily Planet has the story.
Loons
At the Largo library near me the staff and patrons are quite pleased with RFID that they added to their new $21MM library.
For a little more info look here.
I’m more concerend about RFID in my passport than my library book. I don’t want some nutjob with a laptop looking for Americans. I don’t give a damn if they see that I have Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince checked out.
These people really need to get a grip, their car keys probably have RFID tags in them, mine do.
Oh, no the sky is falling! RFID in library books, the sky is falling!
There are better things to worry about
Surely, there are better things to worry about! Probably the only ones worried should be the book thief…
huh?
How could RFID both cause more work for librarians and eliminate jobs?
Re:huh?
Yes. Not sure how anyone with access to a bunch of barcodes could profile me, unless they had access to my ILS already. In which case, they don’t need RFID to know what I have out.
RFID in Berkeley Public Library
Some things to consider: 1) The Planet reporter got it wrong — RFIDs do NOT replace bar codes, they read bar codes. They’re just more tech on top of the old tech. 2) If you can scan and pay for puchases by yourself at Home Depot using bar codes, you could check out books from a library using bar codes. 3) Berkeley will be soaked for RFIDs indefinitely — as books are added to the collection, RFIDs will have to be purchased (right now it’s more than 50¢ each) and stuck in them. 4) RFIDs are thrown out when periodicals are discarded. RFIDs can’t be reused. 4) BPL’s Workers’ Comp claims for repetitive stress injuries (RSI) are negligible (trivial numbers or none at all for the past 4 years), so why the claim that RFID was necessary to save the staff from RSI injuries? 5) So far, RFIDs have not helped BPL at all, just cost thousands of $$ and given the staff headaches. To the people who are pooh-poohing criticism of RFIDS: Wake up folks, you’re not paying attention.