Week5 Reading Note

Computer network & Local area network
It is beneficial to read about a computer network and local area network because we cannot exist without communication through various network. There are many types of network as size of them; personal area network, local area network, home network, storage area network, and so on. The type of a library network should be a local area network in the view of its size, but it is not because each computer in a library is connected with internet, and it does not have own dedicated network. Through this computer network, users can “facilitate communications, permit sharing of files, data, and other types resources, share network and computing” even though it has a shortcoming that it is insecure.

RFID
My local library performed the project of switching old RFID to new 3M RFID last fall. Based on my experience about it, I agree with Karen Coyle’s opinion in Management of RFID in Libraries that old barcode technology will be replaced by RFID technology after all, but in the view of ROI, I think that adopting RFID technology in the library system is little premature. As Coyle mentions in the article, the most beneficial part of using RFID in a library is circulation department. After switching new 3M RFID, the library administration located several new self-check machines to promote patrons’ independent checking out. The problem is although checking out through RFID machine is little easier than using a previous barcoding machine, there is no significant difference between two machines. Some patrons, who do not acknowledge that machine can read multiple books at once, check out books one-by-one, and other patrons still visit the circulation desk because it is more familiar settings for them or check out pre-reserved books through on-line. In this view, I want to ask one question. “Do we really need the new technology to serve patorns , or do we merely want to be an early adaptor?”