New technology makes it possible: borrow books in a matter of seconds
Created: 08/08/2022, 11:00 am
By: Elena Royer
Scan the card, put all the books down - that's it: Melanie Sappl, head of the city library, demonstrates at a press event how library users can organize lending and return themselves thanks to new technology.
© Proehl
Long waiting times at the circulation desk are a thing of the past in the Bad Tölz City Library.
As if by magic, borrowed books can now be booked in batches.
Bad Tölz
– long waiting times at the circulation desk are a thing of the past in the Tölz city library.
There are now two new booking stations where users can now borrow their books themselves.
The highlight: Not every book has to be scanned individually - it is sufficient to place the entire stack on the device.
The media can be borrowed in just a few seconds.
RFID technology introduced in Bad Tölz city library
What looks like magic is made possible by so-called RFID technology, identification using electromagnetic waves.
Converting the entire library inventory to the new technology took time.
Approximately 40,000 media had to be provided with a so-called "RFID tag", a small adhesive label, by hand.
"It took us six months to do this," explains Melanie Sappl, head of the city library.
"In March we were done."
Because library users can now borrow their books themselves, the entire staff will no longer be tied to the lending desk.
"This gives us more time to actively convey our holdings," says Sappl.
"We can devote ourselves to more meaningful tasks, such as guided tours of school classes." Sappl sees the acquisition of the new system as an important foundation for the future.
"We're super-equipped with it." The new technology was made possible by a federal funding program.
The funding amount was 37,000 euros.
The city library had to raise 10 percent of the costs itself.
New booking station makes lending easier
To borrow books, library visitors simply have to place their user card under the scanner at the new booking station.
The user then places all the books that he wants to borrow on the platform of the lending station.
You can now see on the screen how the system gradually records and books each book.
When the process is complete, a receipt will be printed.
The books can be returned in the same way.
If you don't manage to return your books in time during the opening hours of the city library, you can use the return box in front of the building.
This was also purchased with the help of the grant.
"The employees book the media back the next day," explains Sappl.
In principle, it is possible to return all media by throwing them into the box.
"Big games don't fit in the box, for example," they have to be returned to the library," explains the library manager.
And nothing breaks when thrown into the box.
“A suspension system is installed on the inside,” says Sappl.
"Nothing happens there."
The Bad Tölz City Library also retains the lending desk
The lending counter, where an employee books the media, will remain in place despite the new system.
"Our motto is: Everyone can, nobody has to," says Melanie Sappl.
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You can find more current news from the region around Bad Tölz at Merkur.de/Bad Tölz.