Focus on Tags Used in Libraries
Bethesda, MD (USA) - March 21, 2006 - The National Information Standards Organization has formed a Technical Committee to create guidelines that lay out best practices for the use of radio frequency identification (RFID) in library applications. Chaired by Dr. Vinod Chachra, CEO of VTLS Inc., the diverse group is composed of RFID hardware manufacturers, solution providers (software and integration), library RFID users, book jobbers and processors, and related organizations. The NISO Committee's work is limited to RFID tags used in libraries, that is, tags operating at 13.56 MHz.
This best practices document will form a part of a larger input document on U.S, requirements for the ISO TC 46 working group developing a standard data model for encoding information on the tag. The group will also coordinate with American Library Association/Book Industry Study Group working group around the interaction of technology and privacy issues.
"The new RFID standards must help us achieve interoperability within the library industry and application isolation across industries," explained Dr. Chachra. "First, the interoperability must be at the tag level, so that tags from various suppliers or from different libraries can be used by the RFID hardware in the library. Interoperability must also be achieved at the hardware level, where hardware from different suppliers can work with the tags already in the library books. Second, we must have vertical application isolation among different industries. In other words, we do not want CDs purchased at a store to trigger library security gates and library books to set off alarms at grocery stores. Most importantly, we must achieve these goals while protecting personal privacy."
The committee evolved from an exploratory group formed at the October 2005 RFID Technologies Institute, which was jointly sponsored by NISO and the Center for Digital Knowledge at the University of North Texas-Denton.
About the National Information Standards Organization (NISO)
NISO fosters the development and maintenance of standards that facilitate the creation, persistent management, and effective interchange of information so that it can be trusted for use in research and learning. To fulfill this mission, NISO works with intersecting communities of interest and across the entire life cycle of an information standard. NISO (www.niso.org) is a not-for-profit association accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).