Editing Radio-frequency identification (section)

====Libraries====
[[Image:RFID Tags.jpg|thumb|RFID tags used in libraries: square book tag, round CD/DVD tag and rectangular VHS tag]]
Libraries have used RFID to replace the barcodes on library items. The tag can contain identifying information or may just be a key into a database. An RFID system may replace or supplement bar codes and may offer another method of inventory management and self-service checkout by patrons. It can also act as a [[security]] device, taking the place of the more traditional [[electronic article surveillance|electromagnetic security strip]].<ref name="butters">{{cite journal|last1=Butters|first1=Alan|title=Radio Frequency Identification: An Introduction for Library Professionals|journal=Australasian Public Libraries and Information Services|volume=19|issue=4| date=December 2006|pages=164–74|url=http://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=312996058408409;res=IELHSS|issn=1030-5033}}</ref>

It is estimated that over 30 million library items worldwide now contain RFID tags, including some in the [[Vatican Library]] in [[Rome]].<ref name="singh">{{cite journal|doi=10.6017/ital.v25i1.3326|title=The State of RFID Applications in Libraries|year=2013|last1=Sing|first1=Jay|last2=Brar|first2=Navjit|last3=Fong|first3=Carmen|journal=Information Technology and Libraries|volume=25–32|page=24|doi-access=free}}</ref>

Since RFID tags can be read through an item, there is no need to open a book cover or DVD case to scan an item, and a stack of books can be read simultaneously. Book tags can be read while books are in motion on a [[conveyor belt]], which reduces staff time. This can all be done by the borrowers themselves, reducing the need for library staff assistance. With portable readers, inventories could be done on a whole shelf of materials within seconds.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Radio Frequency Identification|first1=Rachel|last1=Wadham|journal=Library Mosaics|volume=14|issue=5|year=2003|page=22}}</ref>
However, as of 2008, this technology remained too costly for many smaller libraries, and the conversion period has been estimated at 11 months for an average-size library. A 2004 Dutch estimate was that a library which lends 100,000 books per year should plan on a cost of €50,000 (borrow- and return-stations: 12,500 each, detection porches 10,000 each; tags 0.36 each). RFID taking a large burden off staff could also mean that fewer staff will be needed, resulting in some of them getting laid off,<ref name="singh"/> but that has so far not happened in North America where recent surveys have not returned a single library that cut staff because of adding RFID.{{citation needed|date=November 2020}}<ref name="ChellappandiSivankalai2013">{{Cite journal|last1=Chellappandi|first1=P|last2=Sivankalai|first2=S|date=October 2013|others=ISSN: 2321 – 788X|title=Implementation Of RFID Technology In Library – Book Exhausting and Retrieval For Readers|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259854363|journal=Shanlax International Journal of Arts, Science & Humanities|volume=1|issue=2|pages=25–32|via=ResearchGate}}</ref> In fact, library budgets are being reduced for personnel and increased for infrastructure, making it necessary for libraries to add automation to compensate for the reduced staff size.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}<ref name="ChellappandiSivankalai2013"/> Also, the tasks that RFID takes over are largely not the primary tasks of librarians.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}<ref name="ChellappandiSivankalai2013"/> A finding in the Netherlands is that borrowers are pleased with the fact that staff are now more available for answering questions.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}<ref name="ChellappandiSivankalai2013"/>

Privacy concerns have been raised surrounding library use of RFID.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Molnar|first1=David|last2=Wagner|first2=David|date=June 8, 2004|title=Privacy and Security in Library RFID: Issues, Practices, and Architectures|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/221609472|journal=Conference: Proceedings of the 11th ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security, CCS 2004, Washington, DC, USA, October 25–29, 2004|volume=1|pages=1–20|via=ResearchGate}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270618836|doi=10.1177/0961000613518572|title=How do libraries manage the ethical and privacy issues of RFID implementation? A qualitative investigation into the decision-making processes of ten libraries|year=2015|last1=Ferguson|first1=Stuart|last2=Thornley|first2=Clare|last3=Gibb|first3=Forbes|journal=Journal of Librarianship and Information Science|volume=47|issue=2|pages=117–130|hdl=10197/5242|s2cid=28009426|hdl-access=free}}</ref> Because some RFID tags can be read up to {{convert|100|m}} away, there is some concern over whether sensitive information could be collected from an unwilling source. However, library RFID tags do not contain any patron information,<ref>{{cite journal|first=David|last=Dorman|title=RFID Poses No Problem for Patron Privacy|journal=American Libraries|volume=34|issue=11| date=December 2003|page=86|url=http://www.ala.org/PrinterTemplate.cfm?section=archive&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=50931}}</ref> and the tags used in the majority of libraries use a frequency only readable from approximately {{convert|10|ft}}.<ref name="butters"/> Another concern is that a non-library agency could potentially record the RFID tags of every person leaving the library without the library administrator's knowledge or consent. One simple option is to let the book transmit a code that has meaning only in conjunction with the library's database. Another possible enhancement would be to give each book a new code every time it is returned. In future, should readers become ubiquitous (and possibly networked), then stolen books could be traced even outside the library. Tag removal could be made difficult if the tags are so small that they fit invisibly inside a (random) page, possibly put there by the publisher.{{Citation needed|reason=See talk page|date=July 2021}}