SAC Library moves into the future with new technology
August 30, 2023
开创性的新技术正在增强圣安东尼奥学院图书馆的校园体验.
New services for self-checkout are ready. 面向Android和iPhone用户的SAC Library TO-GO移动应用程序现在可以加载到智能手机上. 图书馆外24小时开放的图书亭预计将在秋季学期投入使用. The upgrades will improve student success. 这些技术正被用来使人们更公平地利用图书馆资源, streamline the experience and increase user-friendliness.
这些进步也使SAC在高等教育图书馆技术方面处于领先地位.
“We want to become the future of academic libraries,” said Lee LeBlanc, SAC Director of Library Services.
Self-Checkout
新的自助结账选项使学生更容易快速有效地获得所需的资源. 图书馆工作人员最近完成了一个长达数月的过程，为图书馆的每本书都添加了射频识别标签.
这些标签允许用户在每层楼的自助服务站一次借阅五本书. A 23” touchscreen guides users through the checkout process. 除了自检功能外，ipad还提供另一项实时服务:帮助按钮，可以向图书馆内任何地方的团队成员发起实时呼叫. If a patron needs assistance or just has a question about the library in general, the librarians can instantly respond.
Self-checkout and instant live communication is a rarity in academic libraries, said Library Supervisor and Research Services Librarian Karen Briere.
勒布朗说，这些进步类似于零售环境中的自助结账.
“That’s the experience we are in some ways trying to create,” said Lee LeBlanc. “We’re looking to be as seamless as possible.”
SAC Library App allows mobile checkout
Library users can also locate items, 通过新的SAC图书馆TO-GO应用程序，他们可以使用智能手机借书并管理他们的账户, available on Android and iPhone. 这款应用程序将帮助图书馆用户定位图书，然后用手掌扫描这些图书. Once scanned through the app, the RFID tag is deactivated, 学生可以带着书离开，而不用触发门口的监控探测器.
这款应用还有一个账户状态屏幕，图书馆用户可以在手机上查看自己的账户，续借和预订图书.
24-hour Anytime Library kiosk
SAC的学生和教师很快就可以通过一个新的自助服务亭访问图书，每天24小时, fully-accessible shelter in front of the Moody Learning Center. The Anytime Library holds 336 books and will include a selection of textbooks, new books and items that the campus community reserves.
Books are displayed spine-out through glass display windows. Users check out books much like self-checking at a department or grocery store. The kiosk also accepts returned items.
It’s one of, if not the first-ever, 24小时可浏览图书的信息亭与德克萨斯州一家学术图书馆的内部技术无缝连接, Briere said.
Another new addition inside the library is a call button to request help. 每层楼将包括一个服务站，允许用户与图书馆工作人员进行双向交流.
“我希望我们的员工不受传统服务台模式的束缚，”勒布朗说. “I wanted our team to be able to get up and walk with people, have conversations with them, have a transformative moment as they travel with them. It creates more opportunity to interact with the person and find ways to help.”
改善工作的资金来自教育部的高等教育紧急救济基金, a federal grant created in response to academic needs resulting from the pandemic.
SAC学院执行团队还为图书馆投资新技术提供了资金.
从COVID-19大流行关闭中吸取的经验教训决定了图书馆今后的运营方式, LeBlanc said.
“There is no return to normal. We had to move into the future and find new ways to operate,” LeBlanc said.
该图书馆将很快提供一个系统来监控每层楼的人数. With this feature, 人们可以在图书馆网站上看到每层楼的使用情况，并决定他们想要访问的方式和时间.
勒布朗说:“我们问自己如何才能做得更好，这样我们就再也不用关门了。. “我们的目标是提供随时随地访问图书馆资源的途径.”
新技术是图书馆升级的一部分，包括新的家具和改进的工作和学习空间.
The SAC Library contains more than 150,在穆迪学习中心的三层楼里，有5000本书，还包括计算机工作站, private study pods, group spaces large enough, the Student-Parent KidSpot family-friendly study space, and the Academic Services Writing Center. SAC图书馆的愿景是成为学术图书馆的未来——永不止步.
-SAC-