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| Feature: Vatican Library Tags Treasured Collections |
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 The Vatican Library in Rome, Italy, home of nearly two million books, manuscripts and other priceless items, has adopted Texas Instruments' ISO/IEC 15693 and ISO/IEC 18000-3 compliant 13.56 MHz radio frequency identification (RFID) tags to identify and manage its extensive book and document collection. Using RFID, the library is finding misplaced books more quickly, maximizing floor space with frequently requested items and streamlining the inventory process.
Previously, administrators were forced to close the library for an entire month each year to verify its contents, manually cross-referencing what was found on each shelf against the library's collection database. When the RFID project is completed, the Vatican estimates inventory will take only half a day. Systems integrator Seret s.r.l., of Rome , Italy , implemented the RFID system and has currently tagged more than 50,000 of the Vatican Library's volumes.
With more than 120,000 volumes lining its public reading rooms alone, traditional item management methods, such as barcodes, fell short. Ambrogio Piazzoni, the library's vice prefect, reported to the Catholic News Service that "when one book gets put in the wrong place, it's as if it's gone for good." Books and documents that used to be misplaced or misfiled with the Vatican Library's manual system are accurately located and accounted for by librarians with a quick scan of the shelves using an RFID handheld reader. Said Texas Instruments Marketing Communications Manager Bill Allen, "RFID improves the way librarians manage their collections, streamlining and automating item retrieval, storage and inventory processes."
Each TI-RFid inlay stores the individual book or document's catalog data - such as title, author, number of pages and publication date - on a specially-designed tag that prevents item damage. The printed tags also include visible text, allowing for faster labeling. When new data is added to an item, the record in the library's collections database is simultaneously updated via wireless communication between the reader and software management system.
To further ensure that the collections are properly organized, each shelf is equipped with a TI-RFid tag containing a list of the volumes that should be stored there. Using the handheld RFID readers, library staff can quickly and easily double-check that the correct books are stored in the right order on the proper shelf. "If a book is missing or in the wrong place, the antenna will sound an alarm [when it is scanned] to signal there's a problem," Piazzoni stated.
The new system will also significantly improve the library experience by updating the available selection to better suit the needs and desires of patrons. "We will be able to tell how often a book gets taken off the shelf to be consulted. This way a book that rarely ever gets looked at can be put in the back rooms to free up space for a more requested item," Piazzoni told the Catholic News Service.
Additionally, Seret's RFID system complies with worldwide library standards, satisfying the requirement for external access to the collections database for remote Web-based catalog searches. "TI's RFID tags are already widely used in library systems throughout the world. Both the management software and the database are designed to comply with worldwide standards, such as the WebOPAC online public access catalog system," said Emilia Di Bernardo of Seret.
In the future, the library plans to extend the system to include access control, loan management and parking management by issuing RFID-tagged badges to staff, students and researchers. Administrators also intend to tag priceless objects such as paintings and other works of art, museum items, manuscripts, coins and historical items on display or stored at the Vatican Library.
For more information about Seret and its item management solutions, visit the company's Web site at www.seretsrl.it/hom.htm or call +39 339-239-44-58.
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Industry Comes Together on EPC Gen2 UHF Specification
RFID vendors have come to a consensus - we have a Gen 2 UHF specification standard for the electronic product code. That's big news for thousands of companies around the world whether they be retailers, distributors, manufacturers, or RFID suppliers. It happened faster than what some doubters believed, and not fast enough for many retailers that are anxiously waiting to adopt RFID.
The evolution of RFID is going through a process, just like any other technology. This process moves from fascination, to pilots, to standards, to roll-outs, through to adoption, and on into ubiquity. Many engineers, supply chain managers, and retail executives are convinced that RFID will continue along this process to deliver an exciting promise. Others are skeptical, and may question RFID's ROI. But this debate is part of the evolutionary process - moving from belief to proof, and from investment to payback.
This process also includes challenging the technology. Yes, UHF performance has a way to go before everyone's happy. RFID vendors have faced similar challenges before and have risen to the occasion. The automotive sector is a good example. With more than 100 million Texas Instruments transponders out there in car-owner's pockets helping them start their cars day in and day out, the technology has proven to be an extremely reliable technology. High frequency (13.56 MHz.) products went through the same performance challenge process and have emerged as a highly-reliable, well-performing technology that continues to show dramatic growth. We must find and exploit all the strengths of UHF technology, while also learning about its weaknesses. Performance and reliability will follow.
We have always told our customers that RFID is not a "white knight" technology that's going to solve a company's every business problem. Similarly, UHF technology can only live up to its performance capabilities if the expectations are realistic and the engineering is sound.
Back in December, we wrote about the RFID snowball that had crossed over the top of the mountain and was starting to pick up size and momentum. With the Gen 2 spec in place, that momentum is accelerating. The size of the potential market for RFID grows every day because creative people in so many markets think of new ways RFID can provide a solution.
We at Texas Instruments applaud and congratulate the RFID community, the users, and EPCglobal for the hard work, long hours, and willingness of many companies to compromise. There are a lot of very smart people in this community with many years of experience in RFID and other identification technologies that worked on the Gen 2 spec. We thank them and salute their efforts.
But, the RFID community's work is not done yet - we've just passed a milestone. There are many other markets that need their own standards. There are many more opportunities for RFID. So, let us bask in the glory of Gen 2 for today, for tomorrow will bring us new challenges in many other markets. That's the bad news - we've got a lot of work yet to do. And the good news is - we've got a lot more work yet to do.
By Bill Allen
Marketing Communications Manager
TI-RFid Systems
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3M™ One-Tag RFID System for Libraries Uses TI ISO Inlays
At the 2004 Public Library Association Conference, 3M introduced the newest addition to its line of library systems technology and solution choices, the 3M™One-Tag RFID System.
The single-tag system for authenticating, securing, tracking and managing library materials uses Texas Instruments' 13.56 MHz ISO inlays with read/write capabilities and 2K bits of memory. TI's tags are compliant with the ISO/IEC 18000-3 and ISO/IEC 15693 standards.
Libraries, law firms, government and other paper-reliant sectors have used 3M's RFID systems for book tracking and document management for years. 3M's previous solution required two separate tags on each item, one for security and one for item identification and on-premise tracking. The new 3M™ One-Tag RFID System offers a comprehensive solution through a single tag, streamlining the tag application and management process.
The RFID system maximizes circulation, simplifies the check-in/checkout process, improves workplace efficiency, allows for multiple item processing, and enhances productivity and customer service. By changing how librarians do their work, 3M RFID Solutions allow libraries to reduce their material handling by up to 90 percent and frees staff from tedious, repetitive tasks, allowing them to focus more on providing customer service.
"3M's RFID System saves staff time on the mundane, time-consuming-but-necessary tasks that create an orderly and well-run library so that time can be spent with patrons on a one-to-one basis," said Mary McMahon, library director, Mary Riley Styles Public Library, Falls Church, Virginia, in a recent 3M case study.
For more than 30 years, 3M has served as a leading systems integrator for library security and materials flow management. 3M Library Systems solutions are protecting literally billions of library items and optimizing library resources in thousands of libraries around the world including the 13 members of the Maricopa County Library District (MCLD), Phillip's Memorial Library at Providence College and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
For more information on 3M's solutions for libraries, please visit www.3M.com/us/library . Additional information about 3M's document tracking solutions is available at http://cms.3m.com/cms/US/en/2-115/illFET/view.jhtml .
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Report from the Federal Trade Commission Workshop on RFID
RFID industry representatives and privacy advocates gathered in Washington, DC on June 21 for the Federal Trade Commission Workshop, "Radio Frequency Identification: Applications and Implications for Consumers" to explore the uses, efficiencies and consumer implications associated with the technology. Representatives from industry, government and consumer groups led various panels during the day-long event. Texas Instruments RFid Systems' executive Bill Allen, participated on the panel, "Current and Anticipated Uses for RF Technology," in which he addressed real-world and emerging applications of RFID and the benefits for business and consumer stakeholders. Allen's session included fellow panelists from Intel, Wal-Mart, and the U.S. Food & Drug Administration and Department of Homeland Security.
While privacy groups called on the FTC or other government agencies to begin a comprehensive interdisciplinary assessment of the potential effects of RFID, the FTC gave no indication they plan to pursue regulation of RFID systems being developed and deployed by major retailers and the Department of Defense. "I think it's really early for that," said FTC Commissioner Mozelle Thompson in an interview with RCR Wireless News (June 22 article).
Although several states are currently crafting legislation to safeguard consumer privacy and civil liberties, FTC officials said they are still in the information-gathering stage, learning about both the risks and benefits of the technology. Industry representatives made it clear that companies do not want to drive their customers away and that privacy concerns can be sorted out by self-regulation, consumer notice and choice. Bill MacLeod, former director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, also noted that there was no need for RFID-specific consumer protections because consumers are already protected under the bureau's current Fair Information Practices.
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RFID Takes Root in Washington State
Graduate students at the University of Washington in Seattle are using Texas Instruments' RFID tags to identify genetically modified trees. The university's Precision Forestry Cooperative, set up by state legislature funding, seeks to improve the forestry industry's conservation techniques.
TI's 134.2 kHz glass-encapsulated transponders are embedded in two-year-old Douglas Fir saplings that are genetically modified to grow more rapidly than average trees. Because of the financial investment needed to produce these saplings and the expected benefits of harvesting their seeds to produce a new generation of faster-growing trees, it is important to track their location and growth.
"We have used plastic ribbons to mark trees, but the trees are often vandalized by hunters and others," Dr. Gerard Schreuder, acting director of the Precision Forest Cooperative (PFC), was quoted saying in a June RFID Journal article. "Embedded RFID tags are not visible, and they remain in the tree throughout its life."
Because trees grow from the top, the transponders become completely embedded in the middle of the tree trunk and remain at the same height. Due to the moisture within the tree, the only way to ensure a proper reading is by using a low-frequency tag, limiting the range to about two feet.
Forest managers use portable readers to scan the trees and create a database of tree information, including: originating nursery, type of tree, planter, date planted, GPS location and important genetic information. With more than one billion seedlings planted per year in the United States , the potential market for RFID tagging within this sector is significant.
Others in the forestry industry are looking at the potential benefits of implementing an RFID system. This technology has the potential to reduce the amount of time, paperwork and money spent gathering data on millions of trees. Several forestry companies are considering using RFID technology to branch into untapped areas, such as using tags to certify wood quality.
For more information, please visit www.cfr.washington.edu/research.pfc/ or call Dr. Gerard Schreuder, acting director, at the Precision Forestry Cooperative at 206-685-0887.
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