Coming from a town that loves its library, and being a longtime library patron, I've seen many changes over the years to the way the system operates. It used to be that people used card catalogues to find books. Now they use computers. At my library, people once had to go to the checkout desk to take out their books -- now the library has installed self-checkout machines to speed up the process.

The thing is, however, that a lot of people can't seem to keep up with the times. They either can't understand [ :/ ] or don't want [ >:( ] to use the machines, so they always go to the desks to bother the library staff with it, taking up everyone's time.

I propose this: when you walk out of the library with your library card, an RFID chip embedded within is scanned, and your account is read. The scanning machine, which is placed in the gateway of the library, then scans the books that you are holding and checks the books out to your account. People can only go through the gates one at a time, rather like at a subway turnstile, so the machine doesn't register your account with more books than you're carrying.

This way, you needn't worry about waiting in line for checkout, having your card out and ready, or learning how to use a (very simple) self checkout machine!
-- qt75rx1, Oct 24 2008

(?) Totally RFID checkout http://ubiks.net/lo...chives3/004580.html
(In the context of a supermarket, but applies here, too.) [jutta, Oct 24 2008]

The local library has a conveyer belt check in and a 1 or two person que, the checkout can work fast enough but sometimes doesn't. Like when the book doesn't have it's tag. They have multiple checkout stations which helps make it almost fast enough.

Getting pretty close to walk through, but still need to bar code read your card.
-- popbottle, Apr 20 2014



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