Improving Efficiency with Library Campus Cards

A world-famous education institute with a long and rich tradition of education featured a 600-year-old library, which has provided information and support to generations of students over the centuries. With an ever-expanding catalogue of over 8 million books, the university’s library is a vital resource for students.

To ensure the library continues its fine heritage and ensures it is at the forefront of technology and usefulness, it was essential that it was futureproofed to ensure it continues to support and inspire generations of students for centuries to come. 

The university recognised the need to install a modern and robust ‘smart’ system for the students and staff. The challenge was to find a system that was powerful and accurate enough to manage all 8 million books (and the newer ones that will join the library over the years) whilst still being simple enough for staff and students to use without impacting their day-to-day lives and taking focus away from their study schedule.

To achieve this challenge, the university reached out to Plastic-ID, who recommended introducing new software and hardware that supported MIFARE® encoding.

MIFARE® provides a series of integrated circuit (IC) chips used in contactless smart cards and proximity cards. In short, MIFARE® is a system that provides and handles contactless smart cards, ideal for situations like library management. 

The university library needed to ensure their library cards had the capability to log every book in the library and manage the students borrowing and returns. In addition, they need the hardware that would reliably print and provide a high volume of ID cards needed for the students – each with personal information, photographs and the encoded digital information required for an active library card.

To achieve this, they used the CardExchange™ Producer’s Ultimate edition software. The Ultimate edition of the software supports MIFARE® encoding as standard and has the required functionality to fulfil the university’s complex card management needs. It also has the flexibility to tailor to the needs of the business. 

For the printing of the cards, they used the Magicard Rio Pro ID card printer and smart card encoder. The library’s requirements for printing cards are expected to peak around the beginning of each term with an influx of new students, and then the machine will be used to issue lost cards or cards for new staff members or students throughout the rest of the year. 

The Magicard Rio Pro is a mid-range printer that has the power and capability for a large run of cards whilst maintaining quality for each card that is printed. The printer also offers the option to add a holographic HoloKote® layer to the card, providing extra security and reducing the risk of fraud – after all, some of those 8 million books are highly valuable!

In addition to needing the robust MIFARE® system and the specific requirements that went with it, the library had a budget in mind for the complete installation and hardware. Plastic-ID provided the equipment required within the set budget, as well as offering expert advice and support to ensure the set-up and training was smooth and simple. 

For more information about how Plastic-ID can provide access control systems to benefit your business, please get in touch with a member of our expert team today.