Pollak Library installs new self-checkout kiosk

A newly-installed kiosk that will serve as an alternative to book checkout is now located by the circulation desk in Pollak Library South.

In this latest move by the library to transition towards contactless operations, the new Meescan kiosk allows students the option to borrow materials from the library without the need to visit the circulation desk.

“The kiosk was purchased with the intent of encouraging contactless checkout,” said Kevin Phillips, the head of circulation at Pollak Library. “If anyone was to have to leave the desk, people can still check out material when circulation is not here.”

To use the Meescan kiosk, students first type in their Campus-Wide ID or swipe their TitanCard to log in. Once signed on, students can begin to scan their books below the barcode reader, and the system will automatically loan the material to the student. It provides another way for students to check out books, though students will still need to return the books to the circulation desk or any of the available return bins when they are due.

However, the machine is not the only new way students can check out material from the library. In addition to the kiosk, Pollak Library has now rolled out a Pollak Library-branded app that allows students to directly check out items from anywhere in the library. The MeeScan app is free and available on various device platforms.

“I'd say 10% of our checkouts right now are using either the kiosk or the app. So we want to get it to about at least 50% of all checkouts to be using either the app or the kiosk,” Phillips said.

Using the app is very similar to using the kiosk, with the only difference being that students will need to log in with their campus credentials. Books will be scanned via the device’s camera, and the app can work only within the library.

“We're gonna see how it develops,” Phillips said. “It could develop into a thing where if we were open 24/7, people could check out books without us even being here.”

The MeeScan kiosk is now available for use, with the subsequent Pollak Library app available to download on the Google Play Store, the App Store and Blackberry World.