This week in Libraryland

We finally have a calendar for the big RFID tagging event at our library. Once Joppa is tagged, every branch in the system will be using this new security system.

Which means we can get rid of the gates from the last system that let out annoying shrieks even when no one or nobody is anywhere near them. YEA! They shriek even when we're closed, when the staff is working in our offices with nobody out in the public part of the library. (They're only supposed to shriek if a person tries to take a book out of the library without checking it out.) I don't know how the Circulation department can stand the noise. They're so much closer to the sound than the librarians are and it hurts our ears when it happens. Who knows what damage it has done to their ears.

Next Wednesday is the big day.
We have done a ton of preparation work and it seems as if we have weeded our materials collection down to almost half its previous size. (Estimate/ not an exact figure.) We've already had one huge book sale and will have another one in June -- Our Beach Reads Book sale.

The other branches assure us that, once we get into the hang of doing RFID tagging, it goes very smoothly. We're looking forward to it.

The advantages of RFID?
-- You can do self-checkout.
-- A tiny chip contains all the information about the book. The previous security system used long magnetic strips that didn't always work.
-- The new security gates will work better, more quietly too.
-- OnStar can use LoJack to locate any overdue book.

Okay, that last one is probably not true.
hmmmm. Should we kinda hint to certain troublesome customers that it works that way? I'll havta bring that idea up at the next staff meeting.