There is an interesting story on C|Net News on libraries using RFIDs. A few quotes:

“RFID makes the painstaking task of sniffing out misplaced books much easier, according to proponents. Library staff need only peruse the facilities with a handheld RFID reader, which triggers each book within a few feet to identify itself via a high-frequency signal. A book in the wrong spot sends a special alert to the reader, prompting staff to rescue it.”

and

“The real shakeup could come many years from now, when RFID completely transforms the way libraries operate, if you buy into Chachra [of VTLS]’s grand plan. He envisions a day when libraries completely do away with the time-tested Dewey Decimal classification system, opting instead for a sort of organized chaos governed by the vigilant and unblinking eye of RFID.

With all corners of a library constantly monitored by a network of RFID readers, librarians could just a toss a book on any old shelf. Finding it again would just require querying a computer that’s linked to the RFID system and knows where everything is. The most popular books would end up in the front of the library while the less used get pushed to the back and reshelving would be a breeze.”

I can see the first use of RFIDs (in addition to the circulation benefits), but the second one? I’m not so convinced. I see patrons wandering through the stacks with their little device in hand waiting for it to start beeping as they approach their book.

I think people like order (granted, librarians are the extreme example of this); it makes our minds feel more at ease — we want to believe there is some semblance of organization to the world around us (we certainly have spent a lot of time throughout history looking for this at least). This is true even though the order in most libraries may seem less apparent to the average reader than the order of a bookstore’s shelves. Still, I think the chaos approach would just leave people unsettled.

Also, call me old fashioned but I still like to browse shelves in an area of (at least somewhat) related books. I find the process relaxing and productive at the same time. There is something to be said for the serendipitous discovery of a new journal, book, etc. Yes, I imagine one day there will be something online that will provide the same experience (when all those book jackets have been scanned and are available in a virtual environment that will indicate book thickness, etc), but we are a long way off from that.