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RFID Workshop in Denton, TX this October

I was asked via an earlier comment to post information about this upcoming RFID workshop:

NISO and the Texas Center for Digital Knowledge Institute are co-sponsoring the following conference: RFID Technologies: Standards and Integration in the Information Environment on October 25-26, 2005, at the University of North Texas, Denton, Texas.

From the workshop's website:

RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology may be a relative newcomer in the Information Industry, but it is well-established in other areas where distribution and inventory control are critical. Ever more sophisticated functionality and new applications characterize this dynamic technology. What can publishers, booksellers, academic and public librarians, and knowledge managers learn from applications in a wide range of industries? What vendor choices are available? What are the growth opportunities for RFID in the information industry? What is the current status of standards and what else is needed? All communities have a stake in identifying new standards that will support continued innovation and interoperability and allow maximum flexibility in developing new applications for both customers and vendors. You are invited to learn and contribute to the discussion at the institute co-sponsored by NISO (National Information Standards Organization) and the Texas Center for Digital Knowledge.

Institute Goals

  • Discover the value proposition that justifies the expense of RFID technology and calculate the return on investment.
  • Explore the standards needed to maximize the implementation opportunities in the library and book industry.
  • Understand the challenges to item level encoding and what practices can safeguard patron privacy.
  • Learn about multiple RFID applications in commercial settings to uncover new ideas -- what lessons can be trail blazers? You will also learn about library implementations and applications in circulation, inventory, and collection management.

There's no speaker/participant list on the website, but it looks like there's going to be lots of nitty-gritty discussion of RFID adoption and implementation -- that said, it also looks pro-RFID ... reviewing the goals of the workshop, I wonder if Lee Tien would feel all that comfortable there, but I'm being cynical. If your library system is considering RFID or is in the early part of the process of rolling out RFID tags, this is appears to be a conference that someone from your library system should attend.