Due to a last minute change to state travel rules that would've forced me to pay several hundred dollars out of pocket with no reimbursement, I've canceled my trip to New Orleans to attend the AALL Annual Meeting. So no Bloggers Gathering. No Indiana University reception. No roundtables. No CS-SIS breakfast meeting. No AELIC meeting.

Worst of all, I won't be speaking at the program I proposed and coordinated on RFID technology in law libraries, scheduled for Tuesday afternoon. Fortunately, thanks to the efforts of my co-presenter, University of Georgia Law Library Director Ann Puckett, the show will go on without me. Speaking in my place will be Maureen Cahill, also from the University of Georgia. Thanks to Ann and Maureen for moving forward in my absence.

In the meantime, this unexpected stretch at home provides me some extra time to prepare for my impending cross country move. My last day at UNLV is Tuesday, and I should be on the road to Connecticut by Saturday.

This year marks my first presentation at the AALL Annual Meeting. Here's the program listing for the session I'm presenting with Ann Puckett, Library Director of the University of Georgia Law Library...

I-6 A Friendly Game of Tag: Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) in Law Libraries

Tuesday, July 17, 2007 at 2:45 p.m. (30 minutes)

Level: Introductory

Competency: Collection Care and Management

Target Audience: All librarians

Learning Outcomes:

1) Participants will be able to explain the basic technologies and applications of library Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) systems.

2) Participants will be prepared to identify the specific costs and benefits of implementing RFID technology in a law library setting.

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology has been a major source of controversy for public libraries over the last five years. RFID provides libraries with substantial innovations in collection maintenance, circulation workflow and statistics gathering,but the costs associated with implementing the technology are substantial.With questions about patron privacy and technology standards still being debated,it’s hardly surprising that few law libraries have yet implemented RFID systems of their own.This program will assess the implementation of RFID technology in a law library setting,demonstrating its many benefits while providing an honest assessment of the costs identified by the technology’s many vocal opponents.

Thomas R.Boone, Coordinator, Moderator and Speaker, University of Nevada – Las Vegas, William S.Boyd School of Law

Ann Puckett, University of Georgia Law Library