Development of an RFID-enabled mobile smart library system

Although Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technologies have been developed for over 60 years, their applications in library administration were only reported in the last few years. Traditional library operations demand huge amounts of human effort and time for performing warehouse management tasks such as book tracking. It is found that RFID technologies can enhance the performance of library operations, especially in book check-in, check-out and stock checking processes. In addition, mobile devices become popular tools for enhancing productivity because they improve the accessibility of real-time data and information in the workplace. The primary concern for most libraries in applying RFID technologies is the implementation cost. An innovative way to get around this impediment is to apply RFID technologies together with mobile technologies. This paper presents an affordable RFID-enabled mobile Smart Library System (SLS) for streamlining the library operations.