RFID in the Vatican Library

Filed in archive Libraries on October 15, 2004

Interesting that the Vatican Library -- with a priceless ancient collection -- is now using RFID to track, manage and secure its books and manuscripts. Nearly 2 million items will eventually be tagged. See CNN article.

Some of my relatives are librarians. They say the biggest reasons books can't be found in a library are (1) theft, (2) non-returns, and (3) mis-filed books.

Now, the first two reasons aren't surprising. But the third reason was quite eye-opening. Apparently mis-filed items are a big problem. Even though the items are in the library, they're still "missing."

But at least the Vatican Library won't need to worry about that, once the entire collection is tagged. Inventory of the library used to take an entire month, and the library had to be closed. When the system is fully implemented, inventory will take half a day.

Texas Instruments provided the tags. Systems integrator Seret, from Italy, implemented the system.

[Hat tip to Mario at Duchs.com.]