City University of Hong Kong (CityU) is joining with mainland universities to explore cross-boundary opportunities in library management. The study focuses on employing Ultra High Frequency Radio Frequency Identification technology (UHF RFID) to manage book loans.

The technology would allow better management, better operational efficiency of book sorting and stack management. The system, once in place, could encompass books borrowed from different libraries on both sides of the boundary.

CityU, Tsinghua University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, the pioneers in the use of UHF RFID in the management of libraries in higher institutions, set up a working group in March this year to expand the use of the technology. The working group recently met with representatives from mainland and Hong Kong libraries to discuss issues related to inter-operability.

Discussions at the meeting focused on issues related to scenarios whereby data on RFID tags are stored in a standardized format and handled in accordance with agreed practices.

"It is the first time higher education institutions on the mainland and in Hong Kong are working together to establish common practices, guidelines for use of UHF RFID that might ultimately be adopted and shared with overseas libraries as well," said Professor Steve Ching Hsiangboo, the University Librarian at CityU.

"The perfect scenario is that libraries will be able to read RFID tags on items from any libraries that follow the same data model standard," he added.

Professor Ching also said the HF RFID technology has been is use for management of libraries for more than a decade, but UHF RFID is widely regarded a better technology in terms of readability, distance of identification and transmission speed.

While most of the libraries in Europe and the US still employ the HF RFID technology, the newer UHF RFID technology is used predominantly on the mainland and in Hong Kong's tertiary institutions. Therefore there is no uniform standard of inter-operability.

To this end, the working group, having absorbed experience in the use of HF RDID in European and American libraries, is exploring the data model standardization with a view to promoting the widespread use of UHF RFID in libraries and identifying further cooperation opportunities, he said.