Check Yourselves Out

My Library's patrons will soon be checking themselves out, but not in that creepy narcissistic way.

Not the Type of Self-Checkout I Meant

MPL will soon be installing a new radio-frequency identification (RFID) system for all materials.  With the new equipment, patrons will be able to check items out themselves quickly and easily.  Although I have only seen blurry images of the new self-checkout stations in the staff break room, it looked something like this.

C-3PO, It's Not

Let's try that again.

A Typical Patron Self-Checkout Station

Used in Public Libraries

There will be some structural modifications to MPL's floor-plan with this new technology.  There will be three patron self-checkout stations, with a single staff-assisted checkout at the Circulation Desk.  Many return items will be automatically checked-in and sorted by some sort of conveyor apparatus.  The arrangement might be comparable to this artist's rendering.

Click Images to Bigify

Then again, the layout might look totally different.  How would I know?  I don't do facilities renovation meetings, or any other kinds of meetings, for that matter.

Whatever changes appear with the new RFID system, it should be a vast improvement over the dinosaur we're currently using.  It was cutting edge a decade ago, but now it's just plain old and cranky, like Scowl-Face, but with better fashion sense.

Your Roving Reporter On The Go,

Cauli Le Chat

P.S.  "Computer Scans," by Giuseppe, appeared on a self-titled CD (2007), so far as I can tell from the group's MySpace page.  Click here to listen to the song on MySpace.  Or click back there on the song title.  It's your call. The band's last live performance was in 2009, apparently.  That always makes me sad.