BACKGROUND Until now, the US library community has had limited choices for automated materials handling. The legacy systems are typically large and most are adapted from fairly noisy industrial designs that are retrofit into libraries. EnvisionWare believes that all libraries, regardless of size or budget, should have a solution that offers choice, scalability, and guaranteed reliability.
THE RENAISSANCE SORTER The Renaissance Modular Sorter (RMS) is a modular design that is built from the ground up just for libraries. It runs quietly at less than 55db (below standard conversation levels) and it’s designed to be incorporated into existing buildings using standard electrical power and requiring minimal building changes. RMS is all electric, no noisy air compressors, and it works in libraries with as few as three bins/stackers (small branch or building) or as many as 253 modules — a typical central sorter solution. Not only is it quiet, it's small. A 3-bin branch sorter is about the size of a desk and three chairs. Designed in Finland (does Nokia ring a bell?) and manufactured for EnvisionWare in the United States, this system incorporates the best of breed in EnvisionWare software, hardware, and service solutions to deliver the sorter every library needs. If you want to leverage your primary RFID investment, the added benefits of sorting make the best case for your board (contact us for a packaged library Board Presentation). As many of our existing 5,500 libraries know, EnvisionWare provides scalable solutions to fit the needs of all libraries with a specific focus on the needs of small to mid-sized libraries. This doesn’t mean that we can’t deliver a system for the largest libraries. Just as our modular PC management system was built for small libraries, institutions like New York Public, Chicago, Denver, Dallas, Atlanta, Philadelphia, and thousands more know that we build systems that fit all budgets and sizes.
SERVICE LEVEL GUARANTEE EnvisionWare is defining the Gold Standard in World Class Support by providing a performance guarantee with our sorting systems that is second to none. Our systems are so reliable that we’re willing to offer uptime guarantees with financial penalties for down time. This is a no-kidding guarantee that your materials will continue to move faster than ever and that volumes and media will be checked in, sorted, and stacked in record time, every day and night you’re open.
SORTERS IN SMALL BRANCHES / LIBRARIES Many people believe that a sorter is a big system that runs in a central circulation center. While no doubt that’s true, the real benefit can be realized for every library in a sorter as small as three bins. A key element in the RFID business benefit is speed. Getting your fast-moving items back on the shelf or in the fast moving items area is critical to increased circulation and service. Making holds accessible in a hurry saves patron/student/staff time and improves your ability to deliver exceptional public service. Why bend down 100 times a day to touch items that aren’t yours? The sorter will automatically move items for other branches or items that aren't in your collection to a separate bin where they can be quickly carted to another location or a central sorter. Sorting, in the context of automated check-in or discharge, provides patrons with a printed confirmation (receipt) of their returned items. And naturally in a system from EnvisionWare, that receipt will remind the patron of his or her fine amount and provide instructions for self-service cash or credit card payment. (You’ll love our Board Presentation in this topic.) Our sales consultants and our Professional Services Field Engineers provide the expertise in design, planning, potential building changes, implementation, policy development, and the turnkey services you probably need to ensure that your RFID investment pays off in the "Five Elements of Success with RFID." There’s more to tell about our SecureHatch return system as well as the rest of the end to end solution from EnvisionWare. Whether you just want barcode-based sorting or you’re looking for the full RFID system, you’ve come to the right place to learn about an open standard (DDM) solution that’s built for all libraries.
Click here for a PDF brochure.
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Watch a 'Book's-eye' View of Sorting |
| Click on the above link to watch a short movie illustrating the path taken by a book in a central sorter. (This file suitable for ISDN or 56K links). |
