Tagsys Equips China Library, Donates System to New Orleans Library

July 12, 2006

Tagsys was awarded a library radio frequency identification (RFID) project at the Shenzhen Library in China and teamed with Integrated Technology Group (ITG) to donate an item-level RFID infrastructure to the Alvar branch of the New Orleans Public Library.

Nearly two million Tagsys RFID tags will be integrated and installed on books, compact discs (CDs), VHS tapes, patron cards and other library materials by Tagsys' local integration partner, Shenzhen Seaever Enterprise Co. Ltd. The RFID system is the second largest in the world - second only to the system developed by Tagsys for the Seattle Public Library. It includes security gates, automatic self checkout and return stations, as well as programming and circulation stations.

The 50,000-square-meter Shenzhen Library can store more than four million books, service 8,000 patrons and circulate 50,000 volumes per day.

For the New Orleans Public Library, the RFID infrastructure system from Tagsys and ITG includes 25,000 item-level RFID tags, two security gates, a staff station and a self checkout station. With the new system, patrons will have the ability to borrow and return items on their own, without the need for staff assistance.

"We can't afford to simply replace what was in place prior to Katrina," said Bill Johnson, director of the New Orleans Public Library. "We need to build a state-of-art urban public library system that is smarter and more user-friendly than what we had. The ability to manage our collection, which is represented by this RFID system, is an important step in that direction. We are grateful to ITG and Tagsys for this generous contribution."

Source: Tagsys.