White Bear Lake, MN – March 1, 2006 – Champaign Public Library in Illinois will implement a Tech Logic multi-bin Automated Material Handling (AMH) sorting system.
The library will use the AMH system in its new 122,600 square foot main library, scheduled for completion next year.
In 2005, Champaign Public Library circulated over 1.5 million items. As with other libraries "pre-AMH," when items are returned to the library, staff members must handle each item by hand -- from checking it back in to returning it to the shelf. AMH systems ease staff members' workload by automating the process of retrieving, sorting, and moving items.
"We expect our circulation to increase up to 50 percent when our new building opens in July 2007," Library Director Marsha Grove commented. "Tech Logic's automated check-in system will allow us to handle this jump in business smoothly. We also plan to introduce self-service checkout stations, making checkout much simpler and faster for our patrons. These new technologies will improve customer service by allowing our staff to focus on helping library users find the materials or information they need."
Champaign Public Library's new sorting system will include a hands-free book drop, horizontal and vertical conveyors, computerized controllers, and multiple Smart-Bin storage containers. Tech Logic's conveyor systems include de-shingling capabilities to ensure that items don't cluster, while Smart-Bins raise and lower their floors for easy loading and unloading.
After implementation of the new system, patrons will return books to the hands-free book drop, which will be built into the new library. (Conventional book drops are located outside a library facility, where items are subject to weather and theft. The hands-free book drop incorporates an open slot in the library's wall; patrons can feed items through the slot without having to simultaneously lift a heavy bin door.) From the hands-free book drop, items will go onto a conveyor system and be transported to the multi-bin sorter. There, the system will sort items by location for easier and faster reshelving.
About Tech Logic
Tech Logic designs, manufactures, and installs state-of-the art book drops, automated conveyor delivery systems, and inter-library distribution systems, as well as RFID and barcode checkin and self-checkout systems. The company's material handling systems have revolutionized the way materials move throughout a library and its branches.
