Public Comment

Documents Show Persistent Problems With Checkout System

By Peter Warfield
Thursday May 14, 2009 - 06:09:00 PM

Berkeley Public Library’s own records show persistent problems with its Checkpoint Systems, Inc. radio frequency identification (RFID) checkout and security system. 

The records reveal that the library’s security gates give false alarms, and the self-service checkout machines and associated unlocking devices for CD and DVD cases frequently don’t work. Additionally, we determined that the library’s problem tracking system contains incomplete information. 

On April 29 we asked the library for information about problems with the “self-service checkout machines and exit (security) gates at the central library and branches,” in the previous 18 months. These are public records that must be disclosed under the California Public Records Act. We were provided with 109 pages of problem tracking reports (“Work Orders”) from the library’s “Track-it” problem tracking system on May 4. 

The information we obtained shows the following: 

The problems with security gates and checkout machines occur over and over again, and in many cases after service was provided under the library’s maintenance contract with the vendor, and the equipment was reported fixed or replaced. 

Some of the problems, particularly with the security gates and media (DVD and CD) case unlockers, appear to be sporadic, causing difficulty applying a remedy. In a number of instances the work orders report that the technician came out and found the equipment working normally.  

Following are some of the problems noted on the library’s Work Orders (W.O.): 

• W.O. 9,256, Claremont Branch: “We are having multiple problems with our self check-out machines. Neither one will work for DVDs. Now the printer won’t work on the one placed on the high counter. These problems are wreaking havoc with our work flow….” The problem was entered March 14, 2009 and reported completed March 27, 2009, 13 days later.  

• W.O. 7938, West Branch: “One of the self checkout machines … doesn’t read library bar codes easily. Patrons have to try it several times before it works. Sometimes it doesn’t work at all. The last track-it [W.O.] got closed but the machine is still having problems…. Patrons are annoyed and starting to just not use it.” The date reported is May 2, 2008, completed May 12, 2008, 10 days later. 

• W.O. 7643: “The unlocking box at the self-checkout station … is once again unlocking any DVD box you push into it, regardless of whether you have checked out (or even scanned a library card). This was a problem, then it got fixed, now, it seems, the fix has undone itself. I opened the unlocking box and looked at the mechanism but I didn’t see anything I could do.” This problem was fixed 27 days after it was reported March 1, 2008, according to the W.O., by replacing the lock box.  

• W.O. 7,460, Central — Fourth Floor Children’s Department: “A lot of people seem to be having problems unlocking DVDs. In this past hour, every person who had DVDs had one DVD that the unlocking machine would not even take in. In other words, the patron puts the DVD into the unlocker, but nothing happens. The DVD doesn’t even go into the machine. The DVDs are showing on the screen as checked out.” Problem entered Jan. 25, 2008, completed Feb. 11, 2008, 17 days later. 

• W.O. 8,288, South Branch: “A patron walked in with a book from North Branch that was checked out…. The gate beeped. Another patron came in with a South DVD … that was due today and the gate beeped. The gates alarms are going off when checked out materials are being returned. This undermines our use of the gates as security deterrents.” This was shown completed Aug. 6, 2008, 27 days after being reported July 11, 2008 with a note, “Tested gates, could not duplicate problem.” A year earlier the same branch reported a similar problem: “The gates at South, especially the front one, keep going off after patrons have checked things out. This undermines the whole purpose of them and reflects badly on the library.” (W.O. 6,962, reported Nov. 1, 2007, reportedly completed Nov. 14, 2007.) 

We did not look specifically for back office problems with the library’s system, but equipment malfunctions there can also have impacts that are not obvious to patrons, such as problems with checking books in or delays in shelving time-sensitive material. For example: 

• W.O. 9,342, North Branch: “RFID computer programmer not working, high priority, we can not process magazines for last three weeks.” This was reported April 1, 2009 and reportedly completed April 2, 2009, one day later. 

Revealing as these work orders may be, the record of RFID problems they provide is incomplete. For example, we conducted a field test of self-check machines and security gates and found problems with this equipment at multiple locations (see “Library’s RFID System Dysfunctional,” Berkeley Daily Planet, May 7, 2009). But we found these problems were not documented in Work Orders, despite searching back nine months, with one possible exception: a media case unlocking device we observed marked “out of order” in late April 2009. Work order 8,901 (North Branch) reported “The unlockers are not working, they are cleaned, all the connections are ok, the cd’s and dvd’s get stuck inside the boxes.” The status was shown as “pending” when we got the record May 4, 2009. We should also have seen work orders for at least the problems found in the first of our two tests, including security gate malfunctions, because these tests occurred nearly one week before we made our information request. We attempted to ask library administrators questions about these records, but did not receive a response to multiple requests made by telephone, email, and personal visit. In another example of incomplete records, we could not find any work orders documenting self-checkout machines that we saw marked “out of order” on the central library main floor Jan. 23. 

The Checkpoint Systems, Inc. RFID checkout system was supposed to make checkout quicker and easier for library patrons and staff, and to improve the security of library materials. It cost $643,000 and interest on a five year loan, plus considerable labor, to install in 2004-2005. As the Board of Library Trustees (BOLT) considers its budget for the next two years, we think the system’s reliability should be reviewed intensively, with serious consideration given to its replacement with a much cheaper and much more widely used technology, the bar code system. 

 

 

Note: The library trustees will be discussing the biennial budget at their May 20 meeting. Now is the time for library users to express their opinions about, and suggest alternatives to, the existing RFID self-check-out system. 

 

Peter Warfield is executive eirector of Library Users Association.