The construction of its new Library in 2007 provided the City of Victor Harbor with an opportunity to incorporate state of the art library technology into the complex.
Located one hour south of Adelaide, picturesque Victor Harbor is a rapidly growing seachange Council area and the regional centre for the Fleurieu Peninsular.
Popular with retirees and holidaymakers, Victor Harbor’s usual population of around 13,500 residents can swell to over 40,000 during the summer months.
Since opening in May 2007, library usage has doubled averaging 12,000 visitors and 15,000 loans per month.
“RFID (Radio FrequencyIDentification) was selected as the book security solution as it had a multitude of other integration properties and benefits,” said Victor Harbor’s Senior IT Officer, Daniel Brinkworth.
The system works via a small tag with a unique code being placed within each library item. This can be read from a distance and through various materials.
Advantages of RFID include the following:
- streamlined productivity with returns and check outs
- ability to undertake a stocktake with a
portable scanner - returns are automated with items sorted
and dropped into bins - its dual purpose of security together
with stocktaking and inventory.
Speaking at Coffs Harbour City Council’s IT Conference Synchronicity 2008, Daniel Brinkworth said that material used in furniture in areas where the RFID readers are located can have a major impact on how well the system works. He also said that it is vital to tag as much of the collection as possible in the shortest timeframe and identify heavily used collections and tag these first.
Library management is confident that this system has the potential to improve productivity by approximately 15 to 20 per cent over the next one to two years.
For further information contact Daniel Brinkworth on (08) 8551 0513.
