Report: San Francisco Public Library Once Again Considers Placing RFID Tags in Books

From the SF Examiner:

More than a decade ago, the San Francisco Public Library unsuccessfully attempted to deploy radio frequency identification tags in books.
Now, head librarian Luis Herrera is trying once again.
Herrera disclosed the renewed effort for RFID during last week’s Library Commission hearing and promised to return with more details in the coming weeks.
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While the RFID technology proposal was supported by the library back in 2004, the Board of Supervisors rejected it during the annual budget process. At the time, both the American Civil Liberties Union Northern California and the Electronic Frontier Foundation opposed the proposal.
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Shellie Cocking, the library’s senior manager for collection development, noted last week that comparable libraries have already adopted the technology, including Queens, which was one of the first in 2004, Los Angeles Public Library, Houston Public Library and San Diego Public Library. Other local libraries in Oakland do not, but Berkeley Public Library does, and San Jose Public Library just recently acquired it.

Read the Complete Article (Approx 760 words)
See Also: San Francisco Public Library Commission Webpage

Filed under: Libraries, News, Public Libraries