Research Article Open Access

Challenges to Privacy and Risk Oriented RFID System Implementation in Libraries

Abstract

Library and information Professionals of the present decade have adopted and borrowed the characteristics those of the technologists and software professionals in the competition to conquer the sophistications of offline and online content providers as well as quest for existence in the digital milieu. This ultimately has enhanced their user service standards blended with auto service system on the part of the users. The users however are responding very well to this renovated image of the libraries and information centres (LICs). When viewed in this context of technological progress, Radio Frequency Identification (herein after RFID) implementation is hardly unique. The commercial deployment of RFID technology has captured every segment of the present market sector as well as specialized and security related applications. The LICs therefore are not lagging behind. They have started tagging every item in their possession with RFID tag, raising patron privacy concerns. As such in an item tagging regime, the ability to track tags raises the possibility of surveillance of library patrons and their reading habits. Through this paper, an attempt is made to investigate the privacy risks in the libraries’ use of RFID technology and methods for reducing such risks.

Nitumika Gogoi

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