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Unit 8: Library Automation in Technical Processing

have not been able to convey pieces of information to and from your vendors. MARC records Notes
and MARC load tables are powerful tools, best used by those in the know.

8.3.1 Process Automation Technologies

Plant operating settings are then automatically adjusted to achieve the optimum production.
Plant operators can manually override the process automation systems when necessary. In the
past, mention of the term library automation almost universally triggered a discussion of
library computer systems and software management packages. More recently, library managers
have turned their attention to the issues involved with manual activities in the library and how
these might be better performed by the deployment of specialised technology. Thus process
automation in the library context usually refers to a strategy designed to remove the repetitive
materials handling burden from human beings and to pass this burden to automated systems of
various sorts.

8.3.2 Technology for Transporting Library Material for Processing

This area is mostly dominated by custom materials handling technology. Essentially, library
items are transported from the location where they are dropped by the borrowers to a location
– returns room or library workroom – where they will be processed. Sometimes smart return
chutes and staff workrooms simply cannot be collocated. Often this equipment is installed
between a dedicated returns machine and a sorting machine and consists of sections of conveyor
belts and sometimes machines designed to move items vertically between floors.

Notes That some libraries have used this technology simply as a means of transporting
library materials from point A to point B, with a manual process at either end. While
existing library buildings can be retrofitted with transport technology, the process is
considerably easier when planned as part of a new building or renovation. Most vendors
of returns automation technology for libraries generally focus on developing the borrower
returns interface and the sorting components and then partner with an external third party
if transport technology is required.

8.3.3 Technology for Sorting and Shelving

While there are systems in existence for automated remote storage and retrieval of library
materials, we can assume that the re-shelving of items in a traditional library with browsing
facility will be accomplished for the foreseeable future by library staff. While domestic aid style
bipedal robots might conceivably be able to perform this task in the future, that possibility is
sufficiently remote that we can set it aside for the moment. However, for the sorting of library
materials, there are many options available. These options range from simple two way sorts to
complex sorters placing material directly onto shelving trolleys. In an attempt to put each
category of equipment into perspective, we will consider them separately.
It is worth making the observation that, even with the addition of sorting, we still have the final
manual step for the staff to complete before the items arrive back on the shelves. Also worth
noting is that to automate the returns process while using equipment available today would
require a capital expenditure somewhere in the order of two to five times that required to
automate the loans process for a given library size.

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