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Salt Lake City Kicking Some Tagging .....
Posted by Lori Ayre on April 30, 2013
One of my clients, Salt Lake City Library, is kicking some RFID tagging booty! They are tagging in teams of two using 3M Conversion Stations. While most of the team of averaging about 300 items tagged per hour, one of their energizer bunny teams (not surprisingly from the Children's Department) hit the 650 books in an hour mark. Very impressive!
And if you always wondered what it means to RFID tag your collection, check out these great little videos.
DVD Tagging: http://bit.ly/15ZWyu4
Note that they are using two tags. A book tag on the case and a full coverage tag (Stingray) on the DVD. This way, they won't have to open each case to check if the right media is inside because if both RFID tags are detected, they system will have done that for them. They will, however, still have to doublecheck the DVD and CD cases that have more than one disc because only one disc is being tagged.
In this book tagging video, you can clearly see the library's process for dealing with their old Checkpoint tags. They are slashing each old tag to break the antenna to eliminate any chance of those old antennas interferring with the new tags. The rest of the process if very straightforward...and fast!
You might notice that they are placing the tag in the exact same spot on the book. This isn't the recommended technique (and it was corrected shortly after the video was shot). Tags should be staggered up and down along that book spine (usually 3 positions at the top, middle, and bottom) are recommended so the tags don't overlap when two thin books are right next to each other. That's the theory.
Slashing Old Tags: https://www.youtube.com/supported_browsers?next_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DfbzKkYvuoBM&list=UUeslT6mzOosAhljHi5-bKZQ&index=2
In this short little video, they demonstrate how they were able to slash some of those old Checkpoint tags without removing the covers off the books.
The Library decided to do their own tagging and they are saving money by doing so. I think they are getting it done faster than it would have been done by an outside firm as well. How do they do it? Commitment to the cause and incentives!
Each branch is closed for tagging. Small libraries only need to be closed a few days. They tag on those days from 7am-9pm with 4-7 conversion stations (with a team of two operating each conversion station) running. The Library is providing food, drinks, snacks, and lots of caffeine in various forms. Awards are given throughout the day when "Power Hours" are called out. During that hour, the team that tags the most items are awarded with a gift certificate. DVD taggers compete against other DVD teams and book teams against book teams.
Also, just by virtue of showing up and participating, you qualify for an iPad Mini drawing. At least one will be awarded per branch tagged.
That's the way to do it!