For those who appreciate the self-checkout aisles at area grocery stores, a similar concept soon will be implemented at all Jefferson County Public Libraries.
A new system will allow patrons to check out their own books by scanning their library cards and the books or other items on a larger scanner.
“When people have used this, they go, ‘Wow, that’s easy. That is fast. We don’t even have to get in line,” said Linda Rowland, a librarian at the new Arvada branch.
The system was first tested in Wheat Ridge in August, before being extended to the Arvada library. Columbine is up next.
“Since 2000, our circulation and the number of patrons have more than doubled,” said Jackie Powers, library spokeswoman. “But our staffing levels have remained consistent.”
Powers said the self-checkout units are intended to free up the librarians’ time to deal with more hands-on customer service, such as assisting people with locating items and other special requests.
“To reduce the stress on our staff, we had to do something,” she said.
The estimated cost of implementing the system in all libraries is about $1.75 million, a price tag that includes equipment and inserting a tag into Jeffco’s 1.2 million items.
The original window for completing the system was two years, but Powers said it’s going much faster than originally planned.
For the library users, Rowland said kids have taken to the system the most diligently. However, all groups embrace it once they learn how to use it, she said.
“I don’t like standing in lines, so this is good,” said Lindsey Federico as she scanned books and videos for her two children.
Ian Cox, a 23-year-old Arvada resident, used the system to scan some compact discs, but expressed misgivings.
“It’s a quick way to do it,” he said. “But it’s kind of a negative. It’s more impersonal.”