FORT GORDON, Ga. - Checking out a book from the Woodworth Consolidated Library has become faster and simpler after fine-tuning the self-checkout system to work with the millennium cataloging system which debuted in September. Woodworth is the first Armywide library to operate the system without error.
The post's library holds books for all reading levels such as children's books, young adults' appropriate literature, study guides, non-fiction and fiction, audio books, and DVDs. Any individuals with a military ID can register and use the library.
Library technicians assist individuals with input of address information and military unit affiliations on a person's first visit to Woodworth. The 3M Self Checkout system identifies the barcode on a person's military ID to correspond with a barcode on books being checked out. Content on DVDs and CDs must still be checked out through the librarian desk.
"A lot of people prefer to just do it themselves these days; the whole self-service process instead of dealing with a person," said Jessica Thompson, librarian. "When there's a line of 30 people and a person just wants to check out a book they don't have to wait in line."
The automated checkout counter is located near the entrance. A person walks up to the computer screen and activates the barcode reader for their military ID. They then place the book they want to check out in the V-shaped crevice. While assigning out the book to the person, the security strip is deactivated so a person can exit the door without setting off the alarm system.
"Some guys come in and they didn't have this at home, their school or public library and think it's kind of cool," said Thompson. "We still have people come in and ask, 'where's your card catalog'' We're like, 'we don't have a card catalog, it's all on computer now.'"
When books are returned, they can either use a drop box or hand it in. There is no self check in, she said. So if they don't want to wait, they can just use the book drop-off.
"We get really busy," said Thompson. "I've worked in much larger libraries and I think its kind of small but we're actually pretty big for an Army library."
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