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Check It Out! LAPL to Launch Self-Checkout Smartphone App
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The Los Angeles Public Library’s Silver Lake Branch is one of--if not the--innovative of the system's branches, and now they are getting ready to launch a mobile app that will allow patrons to use their own smartphone to check out materials from anywhere within the library.MyMobileLIbrary will be available in August, and will be unveiled to the public for the first time this weekend at the American Library Association's Annual Conference, which is taking place in New Orleans from June 24 to 27th.
"This app is the next logical step in helping libraries become more efficient by providing more outstanding self-services to their patrons," says Gary Kirk, President of Tech Logic, the company who created MyMobileLibrary.
The secure app not only provides patrons with a way to skip the line and check out their items, but it also will provide for users a detailed list of checked-out items and due dates. "Patrons simply scan an item's barcode using their smartphone's camera to check out an item from anywhere within a library. The application communicates wirelessly with the library's ILS," notes Tech Logic. The app is compatible with smartphones including Android, BlackBerry, iPhone, and Windows Mobile.
"This innovation is the latest in our ongoing effort to build a model digital library and bring technology’s benefits to library users," explains City Librarian Martín Gómez in an e-mailed release.
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