| START Conference Manager |
ASIST 2012 Annual Meeting
Baltimore, MD, October 26-30, 2012
Application of Radio Frequency Identification Technology for the to Study of on Information-Seeking
Behavior of Public Library Users: Preliminary Analysis
Noriko Sugie
Monday, 6:30pm
This study examines the possibility of applying radio frequency
identification (RFID) technology as a method to collect quantitative data on
library user behavior, and thus determining common features. The A user survey
was conducted at Chiyoda Public Library in April and May 2012. Each user carried
an antenna to receive the radio waves emitted from RFID tags, and a PDA
(personal digital assistant (PDAce) to record the data, and went about using the
library as usual. RFID tags attached to books and magazines were used to
identify the locations of users. Data on the total time spent in the library,
travel distance, average speed, traveling path, time spent browsing/exploring in
each zone and time spent browsing to explore materials by subject was obtained.
It was found that the percentage of users who spent less than 30 minutes in the
library made up the largest percentage of these groups, while no more than a few
users spent more than 2 hours. It was also found that users tended to
browse/explore general books more than other materials. These findings provide a
glimpse of their users behavior. A more detailed data analysis, such as
analyzing data by specific user groups, or of some group of users or attributes
more deeply, will result in a pattern of information-seeking behavior of users
in public libraries.