UPDATE: Electro-Mechanical vs RFID Security in Libraries
In response to Bernard’s comment:
My general inclination is that RFID’s strength is not security, but its other benefits outweigh EM in several ways:
1. Passive RFID tags have long had read ranges in excess of 30 feet (note also that one new company is currently boasting 600+ feet read ranges). Invariably, this reduces the quantity of RFID interrogators that are necessary compared to EM security gates. While initial costs for RFID interrogators and their middleware may exceed EM infrastructure, long-term, these costs should converge. In particular, new installations will benefit from the increased cost of RFID as many systems, if not all, will migrate to RFID eventually. Spending the money now will avoid added costs of retrofit.
2. RFID has many more capabilities than EM. By identifying each book uniquely with a readable tag, librarians can gather real time inventory data by simply waving a wand. In addition to using RFID as security at egress points, books out of order on the shelf can be quickly identified. This may payoff significantly if popular or expensive books are shelved incorrectly frequently. Add to the mix read/write RFID tags, and the possibilities are endless. For example, waving that same wand, a librarian could identify which books had not been checked out in the last x months.
3. RFID will become ubiquitous. As Wal-Mart and the DoD continue their RFID mandates, many whole-sale and manufacturing operations will incorporate RFID tagging into their processes. This could open the door for duplicate use of RFID tags. The first use of the tag would be in production, followed by logistics tracking in the supply chain. As the book arrives at its final destination, a library, that same tag could be used to identify the book in the library’s RFID system.
Back to security, RFID does have some limitations, and your particular situation will dictate your needs. RFID does have trouble with certain metals and liquids, meaning some items are difficult to tag and the security functionality can be defeated by determined thieves. These obstacles can be overcome by various RFID technologies (specifically UHF), but their use will add cost to your overall implementation. Another common problem is tag shielding. Many things, the human body in particular, can shield an RFID tag and render it unreadable. This has obvious implications in RFID as security system.
The best overall solution: dual implementation. Use EM for high-security in the short-term until RFID catches up. Take advantage of the RFID functions immediately and phase out EM as you are satisfied with RFID as a security system.
