Bibliotheca is selected the RFID technology provider for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The NIH Division of Library Services, through a comprehensive range of information resources, services, and knowledge, advances the highest quality of research and service by NIH and selected HHS agencies. The prestigious resource library serves the biomedical and behavioral research needs of the NIH community.

In selecting an RFID partner, the NIH Library had one primary goal: to simplify the library’s circulation and enable library staff members to spend more time interfacing with more than 18,000 researchers, clinicians, and active NIH staff on the main campus alone. To accomplish this very important task, the NIH Library purchased 235,000 Bibliotheca RFID book tags as well as 1,000 Bibliotheca CD/DVD RFID tags. BiblioChip RFID tags are also ISO-compliant and integrated with the NIH Library’s Millennium ILS software.

The NIH Library will also take advantage of the BiblioChip RFID tags’ unique, intelligent detection capability of “knowing” when components are missing in a CD/DVD pack—without the hassle of opening the pack and processing each item individually. Not only will patrons be automatically alerted at self-check kiosks when returning incomplete CD/DVD packs (thereby not allowing them to return the media), but librarians will also be alerted to incomplete returns of media packs during automated sorting.

The NIH Library installs Bibliotheca’s single- and dual-configuration security gates as well as two Bibliotheca self-check kiosks. According to Lamar Jackson, president and CEO Bibliotheca Inc., “The NIH Library is interested in RFID technology because it will simplify their circulation. The library considers Bibliotheca’s self-check kiosks as aesthetically pleasing and designed to be intuitive for patron use. Bibliotheca’s working relationship with their ILS vendor, Innovative Interfaces Inc., is also a plus.”