More lockers are currently in the works to be installed at UM Library. Regardless, having to pick out your belongings just to go study is still an inconvenience. Why can’t we have systems like foreign libraries which allow students with their belongings inside? UM Library said because such a system would cost € 1.5mil. Our investigation found largely more inexpensive suppliers, and foreign universities agreed that it was too much.
We contacted 15 universities across Europe out of which 7 replied, all in the Erasmus scheme, to ask about their library security measures, opening hours and study areas. This is what we asked them:
- Does your library allow students with their belongings inside?
- If yes, what measures are taken to ensure that students do not steal books from the library?
- If no, what is provided to students to keep their belongings safe while inside the library?
- The library of University of Malta said that implementing an RFID system to track books going in and out (such as in foreign libraries) would cost €1.5 million. Would you know the cost of your system, to track books and prevent thefts?
- Do students enter the library using some sort of student card or is it accessible by anyone?
- Finally, is there a 24/7 area which students can use in the library building or on campus, to study and socialise?
We also looked into library RFID security systems. We put out a quote request on the Chinese industrial supplier website Alibaba and received many quotes for different parts of the system, but one quote by Beijing LTSN Electronics Co. Ltd., a company that has been in the RFID and security tag business for 10 years was just what we needed, a full system which includes two RFID gates, 3 librarian work station readers, 5 self-checkout docks, 500,000 tags and software, came to a cost of €78,280. This excludes shipping and man hours to implement the system, and if you add the latter costs it will probably still cost less than the €1.5 million quoted to us by UM Library Administration.
Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects. The tags contain electronically-stored information, such as book title, date printed, check out and check in date. In this case stickers would be used on books. The system would be coupled to a database which stores all the details, and probably the existing database can be used with some minor modification on the data entry system.
Here are the replies from the universities:
Oxford Brookes University
Oxford Brookes University in the UK has three libraries, a main big one and two smaller ones. The reply stated that the main library allows students with their bags inside and uses RFID security tags on books and other library belongings. The main library is also open on a 24/7 basis and at night security guards are present. The main library on the main campus also has a large forum which is available 24/7. The two smaller libraries do not have 24/7 access but they are situated on smaller campuses both of which have at least one 24 hour computer room which can be accessed by student cards (similar to rooms which Masters students can use in the ICT Building at UoM). The libraries at Oxford Brookes do not have pigeon holes or lockers.
KU Leuven
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, abbreviated KU Leuven, in Belgium, have 24 libraries all over Belgium. These all have different policies depending on the library. Science and Technology and Biomedical libraries do allow bags inside because they are mainly electronic libraries and have only a limited number of books left, but the Science and Technology library has lockers where people can leave their valuables if they want, in this library RFID is also installed. The economics library also allows bags as most of the collection is electronic. Libraries with precious collections such as the arts, law and social sciences libraries have lockers outside the libraries and no bags our allowed inside. Those libraries also have RFID installed. Students here also need to use their student access card to use the facilities, which are available from 8am to midnight during weekdays and during exams it opens during weekends.
Munich University of Applied Sciences
Contrary to above, Munich University of Applied Sciences library does not allow bags inside and provides a locker room for students. They told us that They too have a number of broken lockers and therefore allow bags to be kept near the circulation desk. In 2011 they implemented an RFID system that cost them around €500,000 for 300,000 books and three libraries, all of which include automatic book return and checkout. This is a third of what the administration at UoM Library have told us. They also open till midnight all week. No mention of student cards used to access the library.
Dublin City University
Dublin City University “do not place any restrictions on students bringing their belongings into [their] library spaces.” They have entry and exit gates which require card swipes (students, staff, visitors) and they believe that this is a very secure system as thefts are extremely rare as a result. That said, books are all marked with RFID in case they are stolen. No cost was given to us by the correspondent. The library administration works with campus security to provide 24/7 access to students for about 3 weeks during exam time in January and May.
Ghent University
The Faculty library of Law and Criminology at Ghent University have it simple, they do not have enough lockers for everyone so they just allow everyone in with their bags as of last year. They also have a magnetic strip security system. Remember sometimes when buying clothes there used to be a small white sticker with metal in it? That is a security strip which triggers an alarm when walking through the library gates with a book. At UoM there are such gates but for some reason they do not work. The only difference from other universities is that at Ghent University the library is open to the public and closes at 10pm on weekdays till Thursday and till 4.30pm on Fridays.
University of Strathclyde
The University of Strathclyde gave us some in depth information about RFID costs as they took into account staff hours of implementing the system. We were told that the €1.5 million estimate might be realistic depending on a lot of factors. They said that when they enabled their RFID system they had a team of 12 working 5 days a week for 12-14 weeks tagging books to activate 60-70% of their stock. This was done on their extensive collection of a million printed published books. As for other security measures they have CCTV in multiple points around the library. They allow students in with their belongings as they reason that adult students should not steal from the library as well as from their peers, but some theft still happens.
With regards to lockers, we were told that “We have actively decided not to have customer lockers due to these causing problems with books being hidden in them that are not issued against a customer card – this means they are effectively lost to the library with no means of recalling them for other customers wishing to use them. Many libraries also report problems with damp sport kit and abandoned packed lunches being kept in the lockers causing issues of hygiene and smell. Mice and silverfish are always a big concern for library and archive environments, the latter in particular can do significant damage if they get in to paper based products – they like the damp.”
The library at Strathclyde opens from 7am till midnight on weekdays and from 9am to 9pm on weekends, but for 12-14 during exam periods they are open 24/7.
University of Lahti
The University of Lahti in Finland allows their students inside with their belongings as they have RFID systems as well, in both books and student cards. Students have the privilege of a 24/7 library while the public can access the library during specific hours. Having said this, we were also told that the WHOLE campus is 24/7 and students just need to show their chip cards. In Malta, campus is already 24/7 at least for some parts, such as organisation’s offices.