# Chicago Library Has Self Checkout **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 13, 2012, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicago-library-has-self-checkout/618700 "2012-04-13T20:27:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2012, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicago-library-has-self-checkout/618700/41 "2012-04-14T14:32:16Z")
The Queens , NY library not only has self check -out , but some branches have self check-in. It’s not a drop box, but a slot that’s open 24/7, checks in the books and provides a receipt ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2012, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicago-library-has-self-checkout/618700/42 "2012-04-14T15:22:52Z")
Howard County, Maryland, just reintroduced self-checkout (they had a system for self checkout about a decade ago, but it was phased out) a few weeks ago. ---
**Author:** ![Arabella\_Flynn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8491ac/32.png) [@Arabella\_Flynn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arabella_Flynn)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2012, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicago-library-has-self-checkout/618700/43 "2012-04-15T08:26:40Z")
> [@Library\_Boy](#): > > Well, that certainly is an opinion. I’m with **Library Boy**. There is nothing quite like sitting in the middle of a building full of hundreds, if not thousands, of years of accumulated knowledge packed into shelves all around you. Besides which, not everything exists digitally yet. There are quite a lot of things that are only available in dead-tree form, many of which have been out of print for years, and were never popular enough to tempt a publisher into putting it out as a cheap paperback reprint. Project Gutenberg is a good place to find public domain works (going by US law, this is anything written prior to I think 1923, or explicitly placed into the public domain by the copyright holder) _if_ they are well-known enough for someone to take the time to type it out. Google Books also has a wide variety of searchable works, although for books still in copyright you still need to buy access. A lot of books that were new when e-ink was in the larval stage have never been transferred over, either – hence why Amazon has that little clicky-link in the description saying “Want to read this book on Kindle? Let the publisher know”. [/hijack] All of the self-check kiosks I have ever seen are by 3M, in their own little stand with the V-shaped demagnetiser used on volumes valuable enough to have TattleTape in the margins. The same software is in use at BPL and at the Flagstaff Public Library, which is about as far from BPL as it possibly can be without being an unheated one-room shack. Are they the only manufacturer, or am I a victim of coincidence? ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2012, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicago-library-has-self-checkout/618700/44 "2012-04-15T13:52:54Z")
> [@Jenaroph](#): > > Our library system has a searchable online catalog. There’s no \*might \*about it; I can see if they have it before I leave the house. And if my local library doesn’t have it, any one of the 53 other libraries on the network might, and they will send it - free of charge - to my local library if I put a hold on it. Sure, I have to wait a few days, but the upside is, I get a book instead of a file, which I consider a plus in any case and is an undisputed winner if it’s one with large illustrations, and it’s free. I do this too - look books up on [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com), find ones I want, and then see if my library system has it. I’ve got a half dozen books on my holds list right now, most of which have a wait list, and when a copy is available, the library sends me an email. It’s a fabulous system. And it’s free. I hate digital books. I still like real books with paper pages. And I don’t have room in my house for all the books I’d have if I bought every one I wanted to read - let alone having the money to buy them new. ---
**Author:** ![Library\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cab0a1/32.png) [@Library\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Library_Boy)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2012, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicago-library-has-self-checkout/618700/45 "2012-04-15T15:06:11Z")
> [@Arabella\_Flynn](#): > > All of the self-check kiosks I have ever seen are by 3M, in their own little stand with the V-shaped demagnetiser used on volumes valuable enough to have TattleTape in the margins. The same software is in use at BPL and at the Flagstaff Public Library, which is about as far from BPL as it possibly can be without being an unheated one-room shack. Are they the only manufacturer, or am I a victim of coincidence? There are others, but 3M does have most of the tattle-tape based market. They invented the protocol by which these devices talk to a library’s ILS, the software that runs everything. For the new RFID stations, you see more of other companies. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2012, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicago-library-has-self-checkout/618700/46 "2012-04-15T16:21:19Z")
> [@Library\_Boy](#): > > There are others, but 3M does have most of the tattle-tape based market. They invented the protocol by which these devices talk to a library’s ILS, the software that runs everything. Just how does the “Tattle-tape” work? (3M’s site doesn’t seem to describe it well.) Are these intended for books that _never_ should check out? Because if the demagnetizer is used, and the book is checked in later, the strip would still be inactive. Can it be re-initialized? ---
**Author:** ![Library\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cab0a1/32.png) [@Library\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Library_Boy)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2012, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicago-library-has-self-checkout/618700/47 "2012-04-15T19:29:19Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > Just how does the “Tattle-tape” work? (3M’s site doesn’t seem to describe it well.) Are these intended for books that _never_ should check out? Because if the demagnetizer is used, and the book is checked in later, the strip would still be inactive. Can it be re-initialized? Tattle-tape is demagnetized for check out, then magnetized when checked in. It can be done many, many, many times. The security gate is just a kind of special metal detector, which is why many other things can set it off. Books that are never checked out often have special tape that can’t be demagnetized. RFID tags work by turning the “theft bit” on and off. Here the gate is actively reading the tags, and if the bit is read as “on” by the gate, then the alarm sounds. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2012, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicago-library-has-self-checkout/618700/48 "2012-04-15T19:43:00Z")
Library in Phoenix has had this for a long time. ---
**Author:** ![chizzuk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@chizzuk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chizzuk)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2012, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicago-library-has-self-checkout/618700/49 "2012-04-15T22:47:14Z")
> [@flatlined](#): > > My library has self check outs that work for all media. I’m basically lazy, so the day before I go to the library, I use the online catalog to reserve what I want. I go in at lunch, go the the shelves, grab my stuff, go to the self check out and off I go with my mental candy. If I don’t stop to brouse, it takes less than 5 minutes. > > The only time I have to talk to one of the nice, friendly librarians is when I pay my overdue fines. I never complain about the fines because they are my fault. I get an email notice a couple of days before my stuff is due. I get an email notice when they are due. I can renew them online. I can give them to the mailroom lady to return. Somehow, I end up paying a couple of dollars every month :smack: My dad racked up enormous fines thanks to a self-checkout machine. He checked out some books on his card and then forgot to hit “Press to end session” when he left. So the guy behind him checked out a bunch of books on his card. And then didn’t return any of them. $250 in charges and his card got locked down. It took months to sort out. Lesson: always make sure you’ve logged out of your account! ---
**Author:** ![SticksAndString](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3bc359/32.png) [@SticksAndString](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SticksAndString)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicago-library-has-self-checkout/618700/50 "2012-04-16T03:41:45Z")
Not our local library, but the library in the next town over has self checkout. I believe there is at least one self checkout station on every floor and probably a half dozen on the ground floor. You can checkout books, movies, whatever…there’s even a little slider thing to open the DVD/CD cases right there next to the checkout station. ---
**Author:** ![brendon\_small](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brendon_small/32/17101_2.png) [@brendon\_small](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brendon_small)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicago-library-has-self-checkout/618700/51 "2012-04-16T14:15:06Z")
> [@howye](#): > > The aforementioned Columbus public library has free ebook loans now. A better price and just as easy. Libraries all around Ohio do now. The Ohio eBook project offers many, and many libraries connected through a library consortium (SEO, specifically) offer them that way as well. In general, we haven’t seen any decline in circulation now that ebooks are available now. For one, as stated in the thread, there are many things not available in ebook format. Also, the library I work for has discussed self-checkout, and I think it is probably a great idea. Brendon Small ---
**Author:** ![nashiitashii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7c8e57/32.png) [@nashiitashii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nashiitashii)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2012, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicago-library-has-self-checkout/618700/52 "2012-04-17T14:12:10Z")
> [@chizzuk](#): > > My dad racked up enormous fines thanks to a self-checkout machine. He checked out some books on his card and then forgot to hit “Press to end session” when he left. So the guy behind him checked out a bunch of books on his card. And then didn’t return any of them. $250 in charges and his card got locked down. It took months to sort out. > > Lesson: always make sure you’ve logged out of your account! It’s those little details that really mess folks up if they’re not carefully paying attention. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicago-library-has-self-checkout/618700.md?page=2)