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Details
Subject area: Circulation
Type: Training
Length: 1 Hour
Level: Library Technician, Librarians
Organisers: Hume Libraries (Hume City Council)
Presenters: Srik Ram
Format: Training session
Reflection
This training session was provided to staff at Gladstone Park Secondary College Library because we are a joint use library in which we are also a branch of Hume Libraries (Hume City Council). The school uses the Library Management System of Hume Libraries, and we were required to be trained in the use of the new RFID system that was implemented.
Previous to the new system, we used RFID tags and barcodes independently from each other and needed to encode the RFID tag with the relevant barcode as part of processing new materials. This new system uses RFID tags with incorporated barcodes to avoid encoding. This had numerous effects on many factors including security, self check-out systems, circulation, and processing. Overall, it became a much more efficient system to use and reduced staff time on this process, making us available to meet patrons needs more effectively (Institution of Mechanical Engineers (Great Britain), C. E. & F. G. S., Staff, S. of A. E., & Pandian, M. P, 2010, p.48).
I found this training invaluable as I am the staff member required to perform the opening procedures in the morning including the circulation desk technology and I am often the one that has to trouble shoot any difficulties associated with the RFID system. There are times when the system does not recognise a title and I need to remedy the situation by accessing the appropriate program to rectify the problem. This is something that is used every day in all libraries and is highly important to understand how to operate it. This knowledge and know-how would be transferable across different systems and libraries services.
References
Institution of Mechanical Engineers (Great Britain), C. E. & F. G. S., Staff, S. of A. E., & Pandian, M. P. (2010). RFID for Libraries: A Practical Guide. Elsevier Science. https://doi.org/10.1533/9781780630489