Henderson County Library (NC) achieves 100% self-checkout adoption

“We set and reached a goal of 100% self-check out at our Main Library, with Tech Logic’s RFID Combo stations as the only checkout option at desks where a staff member can monitor multiple stations at the same time," said Trina Rushing, Director of Henderson County (NC) Library. "Patron response to faster checkout using RFID has been very positive. Transitioning to all self checkout freed up staff for more involved patron interactions that now take place at other service desks.”

Tech Logic’s selfCIRC COMBO stations, which arrived prior to implementing COVID-19 protocols, offer a completely self-service experience for patrons. Deployed as a dual-monitor system in a staffed area, the self-check stations allow patrons to accomplish self checkout on their side of the service desk. If patrons need staff assistance (for example, because of an ILS-related restriction) then staff can use the dual monitor to quickly and easily access the patron’s session and/or the ILS circulation interface.

At Henderson County Library, plexiglas panels separate the patron-facing self checkout from the staff-facing monitor. Library staff clean the self-checkout stations frequently and offer sanitizing wipes and hand sanitizer throughout the library.  

The Library selected Tech Logic to provide RFID tagging software, equipment, and 250,000 RFID tags, as well as self-checkout, security gates, and staffCIRC TRAK shelf management wands. New RFID self-checkout kiosks in the branches give patrons a uniform checkout experience across the library system.  

The library’s $124,693 LSTA grant award funded its two-year project to convert all six Henderson County Library locations to RFID. The Library accomplished the following goals for its grant:

• Converted the collection to RFID;
• Expanded self-checkout throughout the system;
• Improved inventory and ongoing management of the collection;
• Added RFID security gates at the Main library

Inventory and ongoing shelf management were priorities for the library with its new staffCIRC TRAK RFID wands. After tagging was complete at the Main library, staffCIRC TRAK identified hundreds of missing items and items in other exception statuses. More than 300 items on the shelves that had been marked missing or deleted from the catalog were able to be returned to the collection, saving the Library thousands of dollars in replacement costs.

With inventory completed, regular exception scanning has increased staff and patron confidence that items shown as “available” in the library’s catalog are indeed on the shelf. “Items that are truly missing can now be identified more easily through regular shelf scans and replaced by our selectors more efficiently,” said Forrest Tate, Library Technology Specialist.

Henderson County Library successfully completed its LSTA grant requirements with a system-wide adoption of RFID to improve patron services and the availability of its collection.  “Tech Logic is proud to partner with libraries such as Henderson County as they implement RFID technologies in ways that free up staff for direct patron services. They have taken advantage of the opportunity to achieve 100% self-checkout adoption safely with COVID-19 precautions,” noted Jeff  McDaniel, Tech Logic Director of Sales & Business Development.

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Tech Logic connects libraries with their communities through dynamic, innovative, and efficient workflow technologies—delivering unparalleled service and outstanding patron experience. Since 1997, we have worked exclusively with libraries to develop solutions that empower library patrons and staff.