A Rosy Future for Self-Service, Say Vendors
Jun 10, 2010The self-service industry is thriving in the economic downturn. It is meeting increased acceptance by librarians and the public alike, and a new wave of innovations is close behind, according to an informal survey of some leading vendors. Whether the technology creates new points of service outside of the library-like a kiosk-or enhances what patrons can do within a traditional branch-like self-check or payments-vendors agree that their services help advance the library mission and aren't just a means to downsize staff.
Dipping public support may put new branches on hold-or worse-but technology can still help libraries extend their reach, says Fred Goodman, Public Information Kiosk's president. Goodman points to his company's e-branch (distributed by 3M), part of the Roanoke Public Libraries, VA. Located in a mall, it provides an unstaffed information kiosk where patrons can place holds and even pick up materials. In one year, the e-branch generated 9000 reserves. "Its success is something a library could turn into political support for a conventional branch at a later time," Goodman says. Another product, the Lending Library (distributed by Brodart), located in a remote village on Colorado's Mt. Telluride, is a kiosk that offers the content patrons want most: new books, audio, and DVDs. An extension of the Wilkinson Public Library, the vending machine is housed in a grocery store and holds over 400 items, shipped up the mountain via gondola.
Part of the solution
It's cliché but true that while dollars are declining, usage is skyrocketing. "And self-check and fine payment can help libraries maintain their services and hours without compromising quality," says EnvisonWare's VP Mike Monk. "Increasingly, we're also seeing a demand for self-return." Self-return lets media-hungry patrons return their DVDs and immediately check out another batch-increasing access to content that has the most restrictions in number of items and loan period.
The most successful integrations, according to Monk, come from libraries that completely embrace self-service, like Las Vegas-Clark County Library District, NV, one of the most comprehensive self-service installations in North America. "With 99 percent self-serve, they are leveraging self-serve to the max," he says. "The staff are free to focus on program development and personal assistance. If staff members need to help a customer, they just use a workstation on the floor."
Integrated Technology Group president and CEO Shai Robkin sees self-service as transforming many libraries. "Lots of branches are seeing over 20 percent of their circulation coming through holds, all generated and checked out by the patron."
Meeting expectations
"Self-service is a megatrend right now," believes Scott Driessen, 3M's RFID portfolio manager. "Society is growing more comfortable with it every day, as people encounter it in government offices, banking, and retail." Most vendors believe that self-service is now a consumer expectation.
"We're seeing a bigger push for self-service than ever," says Lamar Jackson, Bibliotheca's president and CEO. Jackson reports that libraries are building self-service into their capital budgets and "are increasingly seeing it as just another long-term investment, like air conditioning." Gary Kirk, Tech Logic's executive director and VP, estimates that over 70 percent of the company's sorting technology goes into new buildings.
Jackson is also beginning to see RFID in K-12, where busy solo librarians can use the help in managing circulation.
A growing trend among library systems and consortia, according to Monk, is for continuous onsite service in the form of a vendor employee dedicated to that library's self-service needs-like troubleshooting and diagnostic work-freeing the technology staff to work on other enhancements.
Some libraries are also asking for new patrons to be able to register and validate themselves through a self-service application, says Monk. Others, says Robkin, charge for media loans or "to go to the head of the line for reserves. Payments as part of self-serve make these options possible."
As self-service matures, "the marketplace is asking for standards and interoperability between systems," says Kirk. Increased competition has been good for libraries, forcing improved functionality and increased user-friendliness, he adds. "The goal is always a system that supports self-service 100 percent." Ongoing research in RFID technology, Jackson predicts, will result in improved tags, especially for handling media.
What does the iPhone want?
But consumers today are integrating a range of other technologies into their lives. "We're convinced that companies like us have to deliver tools that allow the public to engage with libraries on their smartphone," says Monk. "Why shouldn't a student be able to release a print job from a phone?"
"We're closely watching mobile devices and the adoption of ebook readers to see how that can play out with self-service," says Driessen. And personalization, too, which offers unique experiences based on a customer's history. "With library concerns about privacy," he adds, "this would have to be an opt-in."
In many ways, RFID's potential is just being tapped. Robkin predicts that it will allow libraries Amazon-like services. "You should be able to place a book down on a table and by having its RFID tag read immediately get more information about that book, from reviews to recommendations for similar titles. After all, it's all in the database." - Brian Kenney
