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Recommendation on privacy issues and use of radio frequency identification (RFID) for library materials handling
To: Multnomah County Library Advisory Board
From: Access Policy Advisory Committee
(Rob Brading, Chair; David Blount; George Feldman; Molly Gloss; Susan Hathaway-Marxer; Ethan Johnson; Kate Kerns; Ursula LeGuin)
Date: March 6, 2009
Subject: Recommendation regarding privacy issues and use of radio frequency identification (RFID) for library materials handling
Background
Materials handling and collection management consultant Lori Ayre has recommended that Multnomah County Library use radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to ease the library’s materials handling workload, increase use of patron self-checkout machines, improve the security of the library’s collections, and facilitate collection management activities, such as inventory. RFID has been in used in libraries worldwide for at least 10 years and is now in wide and increasing use in North American libraries.
Early RFID installations in United States libraries were somewhat controversial because of perceived threats to user privacy. Therefore, Director of Libraries Molly Raphael asked the Access Policy Committee of the Library Advisory Board to look at the issues surrounding patron privacy and RFID, and bring a recommendation to the Library Advisory Board regarding Multnomah County Library’s proposed use of RFID.
RFID is a method of remotely storing and retrieving data using devices called RFID tags/transponders that can be attached to a product. RFID tags contain antennae to enable them to receive and respond to radio-frequency queries from an RFID transmitter/receiver. Libraries place RFID tags in each library item (book, CD, DVD, etc.). The tags are used to check materials out and in and can also contain a security bit used in the library’s theft detection system.
Libraries most frequently use high frequency tags transmitting at 13.56 MHz, which can be read from a distance of about one meter. Library tags are passive, containing no power supply, so they can’t transmit any data on their own. When a library user or staff member places tagged items on or near a receiver pad and scans the user’s library barcode, the items are checked out. The receiver pad sends an incoming radio frequency scan to the tag, which induces a minute electrical current in the tag’s antenna, allowing the tag to send the item’s unique identification number back to the receiver. The receiver then communicates the identifier to the library’s computer system, completing the transaction.
RFID tag receivers, or readers, used in libraries can communicate with a tag that is 16 to 18 inches away. Receivers are used at staff circulation stations, self-checkout stations, exit sensors (security gates) and hand-held readers used for inventory and other collection management tasks.
Benefits of RFID
RFID technology will benefit taxpayers, library users and library staff in a variety of ways:
Theft prevention and collection management: A book theft detection system for Central Library is funded in the fiscal year 08-09 (FY 09) budget. This funding can be leveraged toward the cost of an RFID conversion. RFID tags double as security tags that can be used in the library’s book theft detection system. A study at Salt Lake County Library showed that RFID tags were more effective for preventing theft from their media collections than were magnetic strips. RFID inventory wands can be used to easily conduct inventory of the collection, locate items that are out of place on the shelf, find items that are on hold or missing, locate expired holds, and perform a variety of other collection management tasks. Without RFID, tasks such as regular collection inventories are impossible because they are too labor intensive. RFID enables better stewardship of library collections.
Speedier check-in and checkout of library materials: Both library staff and library users gain efficiency with RFID-capable self-check machines. One library’s study showed that checking out an item with RFID is 80 percent faster than checking out an item with a barcode and a magnetic security strip that must be demagnetized.
Reduced workers’ compensation claims and repetitive stress injuries: Between 2000 and 2008, library checkouts increased by more than 75 percent and holds filled increased by 130 percent, but library materials-handling staff full-time equivalent increased by less than 9 percent. During FY 09, we are seeing a year over year increase of as much as 19 percent in some branch libraries. Many of the library’s workers’ compensation claims are related to the increase in manual materials-handling tasks. Other staff who haven’t filed a workers’ compensation claim are dealing with hand, wrist or shoulder pain due to materials handling. RFID immediately eases the manual work involved in check-in and checkout because precise alignment with a barcode scanner and security strip magnetizer/demagnetizer is not required. Often, multiple items can be checked in or out at the same time. RFID also enables automation of materials-handling functions more efficiently than do barcodes. In the future, the library hopes to implement automated check-in and sorting to make materials-handling processes even more efficient.
Easy-to-use self-checkout system: Libraries using RFID self-checkout often report that 70-90 percent or more of their users check out their own materials. Many library users enjoy the speed, convenience and privacy of easy self-checkout. High self-checkout rates allow the library to handle increasing workloads without adding staff. Staff can also be redeployed to high-value patron interactions, such as directing people to the library services and programs they need, helping out in computer labs, assisting with community outreach, and more.
How the library community has addressed privacy concerns about RFID
Libraries have a strong interest both in using RFID technology for materials handling efficiency and in protecting patron privacy. When RFID technology was first used in libraries, several privacy concerns surfaced. Could the tags be read from great distances? Would they transmit information that would allow someone with a “rogue reader” to identify both the book and the patron? Could they be used to track a person’s movements or identify who is checking out controversial books? To address these concerns, the American Library Association and the Book Industry Study Group have worked together to identify and promulgate best practices to protect privacy when RFID is used in libraries. A copy of RFID in Libraries: Privacy and Confidentiality Guidelines is attached to this recommendation.
In addition, librarians have worked with the vendor community to ensure that new RFID standards are developed that better meet the privacy needs of libraries. In August 2004, ISO 18000-3 “Parameters of Air Interface Communication at 13.56 MHz” was passed and quickly adopted by vendors because it offers more security in data transfer between the RFID tag and the reader. It is now possible to encrypt tag data during transfer. RFID readers can also be prompted to authenticate themselves to the tags before the transfer of data occurs. For example, Jefferson County (Colorado) Public Library reports that the encrypted RFID tags they purchased from Philips for their RFID installation can only be read by readers linked to the library’s network.
Recommendations for the library's proposed use of RFID
The Access Policy Advisory Committee believes RFID tags can be used for materials handling without compromising patron privacy. We offer the following recommendations for adoption by the Library Advisory Board:
- The library should follow best practices identified in the American Library Association’s RFID in Libraries: Privacy and Confidentiality Guidelines.
- Vendors should be queried in the request for proposal process to determine how their tags and equipment protect patron privacy.
- The library should store as little data as possible on RFID tags. In general, all that is necessary is a unique numerical identifier linking the item to the library’s computer system.
- The library’s Statement on Privacy and Confidentiality of Library Records should be amended to reflect the use of RFID and related privacy measures.
- The library should provide information to the public on RFID and its application in the library.