Optimized services through self-checkout at the Berlin State Library

Heidi Meyer, Head of the Literature Department at SBB, summarizes: " We expect the renewal of the library technology to provide a decisive increase in service, especially during off-peak hours, i.e. early in the morning and later in the evening. With self-checkout in the collection area, our readers will be able to borrow their media from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. during the entire opening hours. That’s six more hours of service every day." The harmonious and reliable interaction of the RFID devices as a modern ecosystem is the basis for the intended progress. Nexbib also attaches great importance to expedient consulting and coordinated project management. Heidi Meyer adds, "We are looking forward to the new collaboration with Nexbib, which proved to be very cooperative from the very first meeting."

The modularity of the system also meets local requirements. This makes it possible to successively expand the return system from five to 50 sorting destinations in the coming years.

Dirk Schagen, Nexbib sales director, is convinced: "Hans Scharoun’s building has stood for the avant-gardism of West Berlin since the 1970s. By using the latest technologies, the library signals that this attitude is still relevant today, beyond architecture.” “The flexibility of our solutions, along with our high standards of innovation, help to perfectly realize the library’s expectations of a future-oriented, barrier-free overall system", said Markus Rösch, Managing Director Nexbib. The young company’s fulfilment of a dedicated service promise is demonstrated by a remarkable reference list in the Nordics.

Since 2013, the State Library has already been using RFID to secure its reading room holdings and to check out items at the staff desk in the reading room and outside to home. The aim is to offer visitors a low-contact, independent item management, return and account management system in the future with two self-service kiosks and a return machine. Height-adjustable self-service kiosks meet the library’s requirements in terms of accessibility.

After being returned, the media are pre-sorted into five destinations according to their locations and according to reservations. In this way, internal library processes are optimized and staff are relieved of routine tasks. The necessary identification via library media or user card ensures that no non-library items can be introduced into the machine. A new security gate completes the self-service offering in the book collection area.

About the Berlin State Library

As the largest scientific universal library in Germany, the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz (Berlin State Library – Prussian Cultural Heritage) is a central supplier of national and international literature. More than 11 million volumes of printed material alone have accumulated since the library was founded in 1661. The collection comprises over 2.2 million additional printed works and other, often unique, materials in the special collections – these include western and oriental manuscripts, music autographs, estates and deposits, personal collections, maps, and historic newspapers. The library’s collection also contains more than 10 million microforms and, in the picture library, over 12 million motifs. Furthermore, a constantly increasing number of databases and other electronic resources complement the collection. The quality of its collections and its diverse services characterise the special prestige of the library worldwide.

More info at https://staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/die-staatsbibliothek/portraet