Buffalo and Erie County PL Tests Finger Identification

Touch & Go! uses biometric scanning technology to identify patrons, although it does not record fingerprints

By Michael Rogers -- Library Journal, 6/15/2004

Libraries always have been cutting edge and ahead of the curve when it comes to implementing new technologies. Some are more advanced than others: the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library (B&ECPL) has made the leap from cutting edge to bleeding edge with the installation of a biometric scanning system that puts the library at patrons fingertips—literally. Created by the Ultra-Scan Corp., the Touch & Go! system allows patrons to forgo the use of a library card by having their index finger scanned. In essence, your finger becomes your library card.

Lucille DeFranks, the library's assistant deputy director for support services, told LJ that Ultra-Scan contacted them looking for a partner to test the system in a library environment. "Having had a background in circulation, I know how difficult it is for patrons who come in without their card or any ID," she said. "Your fingers are one bit of identification you carry with you all the time."

The system consists of a scanner at the checkout desk and more hardware at an Enrollment Station that is basically a PC. Patrons bring their selections to the desk, place their finger on the scanner, and enter a PIN consisting of any four digits. "It's the same as if a staffer scanned your library card into our automated system," DeFranks said.

Although the idea of a fingerprint being taken might set off privacy alarms, the scanned finger images are not stored. Moreover, DeFranks says, the image creates a mathematical formula that calculates a number and that becomes your ID, not the actual image of your finger. "You have to get people to overcome the concept that it's a fingerprint; it's not a fingerprint, and we are not tied to any police organizations. Nevertheless, there are many people who still fear that."

DeFrank says that those who use it "love it and would like to see it expanded," including DeFranks herself: "When I'm working on the second floor and I go down and see a book I want, I don't have to come back to my office to get my card.

The system has been in the pilot phase for more than a year and currently is installed in the Central Library and the Crane Branch, so usage is limited. "We have about 2000 patrons enrolled, which is a small percentage compared with card use."

Once Touch & Go! was installed in B&ECPL, Ultra Scan received government bids for security at airports, so DeFranks says the library now is "waiting for them to come back and see what else we can do with this." She says B&ECPL would like to see the program magnified "because it has been successful and it makes so much sense, it's the way you get sure ID. With a library card, unless you have a good photo on it, people can easily deceive you," said DeFranks. "This is positive ID.