Braswell Memorial Library has been awarded a $100,000 federal grant to be used to purchase and implement state-of-the-art technology for inventory control and circulation purposes.

The most important benefit of the upcoming addition of radio frequency identification, said Jane Blackburn, library director, “is that the library’s more than 72,000 library card holders will be better served, both those who prefer to use library resources without staff intervention and those who prefer personalized service.”

The federal funding came through a Library Services and Technology Act grant from the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources.

Blackburn said the technology will enable library staff to do some work faster and better than before ... thus freeing up time to provide value-added services to customers who want or need help.

The new system has advantages for patrons as well, including speeding up check-out via self-check stations that allow customers to use cash or credit cards, increasing the accuracy of the library’s online catalogue and decreasing the amount of time library staff spend handling books, allowing them more time to focus on individuals.

In the system, a “tag” is assigned to every library item. At a check-in or check-out station, an antenna “queries the tag through a radio wave obtaining the item number, which is used to determine the item’s current status,” a library release states.

Blackburn said the operation can process multiple items at a time.

“We will be implementing the various components of the new system over the next six to eight months but will not have to close the library while doing any part of the work,” she said. “We’re excited about keeping up with current technology, so we can better serve our community.”