High-tech checkout is OK'd for Provo library

PROVO — The Provo City Library at Academy Square will get a new, high-tech checkout system.

The Provo City Council voted Tuesday night to approve the purchase of a radio-frequency identification system at a cost of $485,786.

The system will allow library cardholders to check out most items through eight self-checkout scanning stations, library director Gene Nelson said.

Nelson also said the new system, which could be in place by May, will reduce lines, shorten the amount of time it takes to reshelve a returned book and save hundreds of hours of staff labor each week.

The system will be provided by 3M and SirsiDynix and requires a microchip tag for every book and other library item. The tag emits a short radio frequency that is read instantly by checkout scanners, which can simultaneously scan items in stacks as high as 18 inches.