Special library integrates cutting‐edge technology: the 3M™ Digital Identification System
| Date | 01 February 2000 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb040754 |
| Published date | 01 February 2000 |
| Pages | 72-74 |
| Author | John Yorkovich |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management |
Special library
integrates cutting-
edge technology:
the 3M™ Digital
Identification System
by John Yorkovich, Digital Technology
Marketing Manager, 3M Library Sys-
tems
Routine tasks, such as transactions at the
bank,
grocery store and gas station, are
becoming more and more automated, making
daily activities more efficient. 3M Library
Systems are now applying the same
technologies to library work in a way that
promises to change the whole way staff work
and patrons visit the
library.
This article looks
at the benefits of
the
3M™ Digital Identification
System is bringing to the Curriculum Materials
Library (CML) at the University of
Nevada,
Las
Vegas (UNLV).
Implementing digital
technology
The 5,750-square-foot Curriculum Materials
Library, which supports the teacher education
programs within the UNLV College of Education
and serves as a resource for teachers in the sur-
rounding school districts, is the first academic
library in the world to use the 3M digital identifi-
cation system. The library houses more than
40,000 materials consisting of fiction and non-
fiction juvenile literature, professional materials,
curriculum guides, media, K-12 textbooks, and
more. The library considers the conversion to
digital identification technology to have been very
successful with the use of the 3M™ Conversion
Station and the 3M™Tattle-Tape™ Security Strip
Application System Model 611.
Using two conversion stations, one for the main
collection and one for items being returned, the
five library staff members and student workers
converted CML's collection of approximately
30,000 books and videos from barcode to digital
identification technology in a matter of three
weeks. CML generally had one person on each
conversion station and sometimes a person who
obtained books to be converted and shelved books
that had already been through the conversion process.
The 3M conversion station allows 3M digital
identification tags to be applied to library materials
using a simple process, which begins with a
barcode scanner reading the optical barcode of the
item to be converted. A 3M digital identification
tag is then dispensed and placed into the read/write
zone by a Curriculum Materials Library staff
member. After this step, the item ID and media
type are automatically transferred into the memory
of the tag. The operator of the system then applies
the tag near the spine of the book. When switch-
ing to another media type, the operator uses the
touch-screen interface to select the desired type.
And because the 3M digital identification system
integrates security technology, 3M Tattle-Tape
security strips were also applied to books at the
Curriculum Materials Library. Integrating digital
identification with Tattle-Tape technology pro-
vides what 3M regard as the highest level of item
security available to libraries today. 3M digital
identification tags and 3M security strips are
compatible, so identification technology can be
introduced without jeopardizing security or obso-
lescing prior investments, a critical component of
3M Materials Flow Management.
Improving productivity
By combining the best of traditional academic
library features with the newest electronic tech-
nologies at the Curriculum Materials Library, the
3M digital identification system, which is a suite
of seven 3M products, enhances the overall Mate-
rials Flow Management of the Curriculum
Materials Library. 3M regard Materials Flow
Management as the first comprehensive system for
optimizing the handling, processing and security of
library materials and streamlining the flow of
library materials out of, back into, and throughout
a library. This state-of-the-art technology maxi-
mizes productivity among staff and helps the
library provide the ultimate in patron service. As
library budgets get tighter and patron needs in-
crease, Materials Flow Management offers better
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