Role and Application of RFID in Libraries

Libraries today are driven by both effective and efficient management approaches and strategies to meet users’ demands. They are staffed by professionals whose job is to help people meet and manage their information needs and are the ideal places to offer public access to information and communications technology (ICT) resources, as they are found in nearly every community. Library services are emerging as “technologyintensive” services. Radio frequency identification RFID) seems to have seized the imagination of the library world. Many RFID vendors are collaborating with libraries to implement RFID solutions in different parts of the world. Given the growing importance of the application of ICT, particularly RFID, in various supply chains, it is important to understand RFID technology per se and its role and applications in libraries. We describe the first phase of the successful implementation of application of RFID technology in a library in India. We look at the library processes as a supply chain and attempt to understand how RFID application impacts the library’s operations and supply chains. We test the applicability of RFID in libraries and derive key insights and important managerial implications. We also identify significant adoption and implementation barriers and provide suggestions to libraries that are, or willbe, in the process of implementing such initiatives. Finally, we suggest directions for possible extensions of our work