Work in Progress: Performance and Reliability of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Library System

The literature has indicated that libraries in developed countries are fast growing early adopters of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. The other sector of early adopters is distributors who use the technology primarily in the supply chain. The literature abounds with studies on perceived and expected problems with RFID in the supply chain but is sparse on performance and reliability of the technology in library environments. This has prompted researchers to suggest that there is a need for investigation of RFID in library environments. The study will measure performance of RFID library system at a university library by examining factors, namely tag placement, reader orientation sensitivity, read rate, reading distance, and metal and electromagnetic interference. Test procedures will be created to record accuracy rate, which will be further analyzed with a spectrum analyzer to understand the behavior of RFID tag reader communication in the library environment. The findings will help to determine best practices to optimize the performance of the technology.