Lucy and Ethel believe strongly in letting students take ownership of their library experience. Once I got Ethel as my full time assistant, we started letting the students scan their own books. I know some of you do this, and do this at an even more advanced level than we do (more on that later). Picture Lucy, or Ethel, behind the desk. Student comes up, gives us their number. We type it in our Follett Circ Plus. Student then scans book (or books). We hit print for the receipt. We type in any passwords necessary for any overrides (like if the book is on hold, and we are letting it go, etc.). The students really like this--especially if they are in a large group. Believe it or not, when we get a whole class in to check out, it is faster if they scan the books themselves. Now, we'd love to have comments from some of you who take this to a higher level--having students type in their own numbers and scan, etc. How is that set up in your libraries? We are switching to Destiny by late spring (wish us luck), and wonder if this offers us even more possibilities here. Let us know your thoughts in our comments section!
