The Fun of Self-Help Technology

Posted Thursday, April 07, 2005, at 05:02PM by Eric Richardson

Being that I'm somewhat in love with technology, it would seem to me that I should like things like the self check-out machines at the Central Library. But I don't. They're hard to use.

Today, though, the line for regular check-out was long and I didn't feel like waiting, so I thought I'd go through with it.

Basically the way the machine works is that you have a screen, a keypad, a horizontal tray with a spot marked for your card, and up above a laser barcode reading shining down. The idea is that you put your card in its spot and the reader sees the bar-code on the card and pulls up your information. It then prompts you to place a book where its barcode can be read. When you remove your card the session's done and your receipt gets printed.

The problem is that the library card I carry is the cool little one that goes on your keyring. This means that attached to it are my keys. The little surface they have you place your card on isn't flat, so my keys tend to want to slide their way down toward the machine. The barcode reader doesn't like it when your card moves. It tends to think you're done.

Second, you're supposed to place your book on top of the card, its barcode also in the reader's beam. Keys and keyrings not being too flat, that creates another issue. Press down and you move the keys, leave the book too high and it doesn't register.

Today after helping an older lady use the system (who had one of the credit card sized cards), I ended up just deciding to take my card off the keyring and use it that way. It's a hassle, but at least it works.