Self Check-In @ the Wausau Branch of the Marathon County Public Library

Marathon County Public Library installs new self-check-in technology. (Wausau Daily Herald, 6/26/2011)

Excerpt: The Wausau branch library recently added the check-in machine on its main floor, near the electronic checkout system. After patrons scan barcodes to check in their books or other borrowed items, a conveyor belt moves them toward a sorting system that automatically separates materials into five bins: first floor, second floor, the kids section, audio/visual and things that either go to a different library or were requested by other patrons.

The machine, built by 3M, came with a $125,000 price tag and was paid for out of the library's $3.6 million budget. However, the savings on staff time sorting books and other materials by hand means the system will pay for itself in about two years, said Garrett Erickson, the library's support services manager.

The $120,000 checkout machine purchased in 2006 already has paid for itself, customer services manager Mike Hartkopf said. It freed up staff for customer assistance and other services.