Gates - whereas gates themselves haven't changed that much, their functionality is improving. Basically, new gates can do more than just count traffic and give you a grand total at the end of the day. They can now generate a report that tell you the gate count by time. So, if you want to know how many people came in between 2-4pm, it can tell you. New gates are also smart enough to tell you which book triggered the beeping. So, theoretically, if someone steels a book, and the gate sounds, we should be able to generate a report to tell us what book caused the beep.
Self Checks - new self check out machines have a lot more functionality. They can take credit cards, cash, coins, and Apple Pay. They can also take payment for fees and fines. And, they are able to have a scrolling feed of programs on the screen. That way, if a book is checked out on resumes, the public can see there's a program on resumes coming up and can print out some info about it. Seems to be interactive. Definitely a lot more possibilities with new equipment. This is something we will work on in the coming year.
This is the library nerd in my coming out, but I love the idea that the gates could tell us what item was stolen! The time specific counts would be helpful to look at trends and planning staffing levels on those trends.
ReplyDeleteThe stand up self-checks I saw were pretty snazzy looking. I think they'd look quite sharp in our library, though we would probably need some reconfiguring at the Circ desk.
Wow, the gates sound like all the makings of a stationary iBeacon. All it needs to do is send messages to patrons as they leave. Maybe in the distant future the gate can read the barcode of the book and send a message about a related program. Resume book barcode = resume tech class text message.
ReplyDeleteThe gate count by time will be helpful for figuring out programming...when to offer a program? prime time marketing? would be interesting to review stats.
Wess. I asked about the beacons in gates and if that is available to push something on the way in or out from the gates. The sales manager and service manager were helping us and we're like "wow- that's a good idea, we should look into that..." So. Maybe one day...
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