Cromwell library patrons Nita Smith and daughter Stella Parsons, 4, both of Cromwell, issue their books with the library’s new self-service kiosks. PHOTO: RUBY SHAW
The kiosks use radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags which use a wireless radio system to transfer data from the tags in the books.
RFID replaces traditional library barcodes and, unlike barcodes, multiple RFID tags can be read at one time.
Librarian Vicki Darling said the machines were getting a lot of use from patrons.
"People absolutely love the self returns."
Children in particular were going out of their way to use the machines, she said.
Librarians had spent more time with patrons recently, teaching them how to use the machines.
But Ms Darling anticipated as people became familiar with them, it would free up staff for other library duties.
The project’s funding came from the central government’s Better Off funding.
