Application of RFID in Libraries for Physical Information Security – A View

Abstract

New technologies have always been of interest for libraries, both for the potential of increasing the quality of service and for improving efficiency of operations. In the era of globalisation and liberalisation and with the advent of hi-technologies, the whale world has been condensed in a very small frame. With enormous knowledge explosion, the need to quench the thirst of information cannot be over emphasized. Barcode made inventory tracking easier, but they have their disadvantages. For starts each barcode has to be read in individually by the reader. If an entire well stocked information Centre needed to be checked in to a computer, it could mean several hours of work. Furthermore, the basic barcode is just a tag with data printed on it, and this data can’t be updated. Except, of course by sticking another barcode over it. Where Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags come in takes asset tracking to the next level, with smart intelligent tags embedded in the package, the information on the tag can be scanned and updated automatically by readers. RFID married with today’s enterprise resource planning solutions, may soon be the next big thing in information management. The technology provides an automated method to collect product or transaction information. The RFID system works using “smart” tags, with inbuilt silicon chips that store data, a reader that scans information from the tags, and the infrastructure to store and analyse the data. This present paper will give you an understanding of how technology can impact on our libraries.