[Publib] Preventing problems at self-check

[janet.griffing at wadsworthlibrary.com]

Good morning:

Within the past 6 months, we've moved to self-service checkout and holds pick up. We still have one staff member available in the vicinity of the checkout stations to handle customer problems, and one of those problems consistently appears to be that the customer either doesn't scan the correct barcode (using the printed ISBN code, resulting in an error) or scans it, ignores the error, and leaves without actually having checked out the item. Obviously this not only interferes with our ability to locate late/missing items, but impacts our circulation stats as well.

I asked technical services staff about covering all publisher-placed barcodes with white labels, but they reminded me that our staff uses the ISBN barcodes when working on collection development/management. Covering the barcode but leaving the ISBN number visible works except for those cases where only the barcode is printed without the number.

To those libraries also using self-service checkout: How are you handling this problem? Any fresh ideas would be most appreciated. Thanks!

Janet Griffing


Janet Griffing 
Marketing and Public Relations Coordinator 
Wadsworth Public Library 
132 Broad Street 
Wadsworth, OH 44281 
Phone: 330-335-2604 
Fax: 330-334-6605 


“People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.” Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, 1926-2004 

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