The user identifies themselves
With their library card, their institutional credentials or their signed-in session in the library app.
Guide · Library self-checkout
Library self-checkout:
what it is and how to set it up.
A practical guide for university libraries: which self-checkout systems exist, what your library needs to offer one, and how self-checkout on a machine differs from self-checkout on the user’s own phone.
Definition
Library self-checkout is the service that lets a person register the loan of an item by themselves, without going to the service desk. The system identifies the user and the item, checks circulation policies in the library management system, records the loan and deactivates the item’s security alarm.
- The reader can sit in a fixed machine, in a library-owned tablet or in the user’s own phone.
- Items are identified by an RFID tag or a barcode.
- The transaction is only valid if the library management system accepts and records it.
- Self-return is a different operation from self-checkout, and not every system handles it the same way.
It is also called library self-service, automated circulation or self-issue. In Spanish the usual terms are «autopréstamo», «autoservicio bibliotecario» and «préstamo automatizado».
Video · 80 seconds · English narration
See the whole app in under a minute and a half.
Sign-in, borrowing, the two-step return inside the library, the digital card and how it connects to your library system. No meeting needed.
Recorded in the “Biblioteca Prestalib” demo app; sample books and events are in Spanish. Each university gets its own app, with its branding and languages. Try the interactive demo · Free 30-day pilot with your own books
How it works
Four steps, whichever system you use.
The device that reads the item changes, but the sequence is always the same.
The item is identified
The RFID or barcode reader obtains the item identifier. In NFC self-checkout, that reader is the phone itself.
The library system decides
Permissions, limits, holds and fines are checked against the library’s circulation policies.
The loan is recorded and security handled
The loan is recorded in the user’s account and the item’s security state is updated so it can pass the gates.
Self-checkout and self-return are not the same
Self-checkout records an item leaving and deactivates its alarm. Self-return records it coming back, reactivates the alarm and returns it to circulation. Because a return means physically receiving the item, each system solves it differently: with a return station, at the desk or, in Prestalib’s case, by requiring the user to be inside the library and to leave the item at the designated point afterwards.
System types
Where the reader sits
changes everything.
The three formats do the same job with very different costs, coverage and user experience. They can coexist in the same library.
| Criterion | RFID machine or kiosk | Library tablet or smartphone | The user’s own phone (NFC) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where the reader is | In the unit installed in the library. | In the library-owned shared device. | In the user’s phone, if it supports NFC. |
| RFID tags it reads | HF or UHF, depending on the reader fitted to the unit. | HF through the device’s NFC; UHF only with an external reader. | HF only: a phone’s NFC cannot read UHF tags. |
| Space and installation | Takes floor or counter space; needs power, network and sometimes building work. | Minimal: a stand and a power socket. | None. |
| Coverage | Only where a unit is installed. Adding floors or sites means buying more units. | Can be moved, but it is still a shared point. | The whole library, on any floor or site, with no extra hardware. |
| Queues | Concentrated at the unit, especially around exams. | Same as the machine, on a smaller scale. | No single point: each user acts at the shelf. |
| Depends on the user’s device | No. | No. | Yes: it needs a compatible NFC phone with the app installed. |
| Occasional visitors | A good fit: nothing to install. | A good fit. | Requires downloading the app first. |
| Maintenance | Dedicated hardware: faults, spare parts and unit replacement. | Consumer devices, cheaper to replace. | App updates; the hardware belongs to the user. |
| Added services | Limited to the session in front of the unit. | Limited to the session in front of the device. | Catalogue, account, renewals and phone reminders beyond the library. |
Prestalib builds the last two options, which are its two solutions: My Prestalib App on the user’s own phone and Prestalib Smartphones on library-owned devices. We do not manufacture self-checkout kiosks, and both coexist with the equipment you already have. Read the self-checkout machine guide
Requirements
What your library needs
to offer self-checkout.
The list is short and is almost always already covered in a university library that works with RFID.
- A library management system the self-service system can talk to, through SIP2 or other mechanisms.
- A way to identify users: institutional credentials, a library card or an app account.
- Items identified with an RFID tag or a barcode.
- If security gates are installed, a way to manage the tag’s security state.
- Agreed circulation policies: what can be borrowed in self-service, how many items and with which exceptions.
- A physical workflow for returns and for the cases self-service does not cover.
Compatibility
Most modern
library systems,
via SIP2.
The phone is the RFID reader
It feels like magic.
It’s their phone’s NFC.
The reader travels with the user: the phone’s own NFC reads the item’s RFID tag, right at the shelf and on any floor. The app records the transaction in your library system and handles security automatically.
- 01
Choose borrow or return.
The user opens your library app on their phone and chooses the transaction.
- 02
Hold the phone close to the item.
The built-in NFC reader reads the book or library item’s RFID tag.
- 03
Done. That simple.
The loan or return is recorded and RFID security is handled automatically.
Returns always happen inside the library.
The app requires the user to be inside the library to complete a self-return. Once the return is recorded, they leave the item at the designated return point.
NFC reading requires a compatible phone and HF RFID tags: a phone’s NFC cannot read UHF tags. The app also identifies items by barcode with the camera, so in libraries without security gates it works without RFID.
Self-checkout by Prestalib
Self-checkout with no machine,
on each user’s own phone.
My Prestalib App brings self-checkout and self-return to the student’s own Android phone or iPhone, with your university’s branding, languages included and compatibility with most modern library management systems via SIP2. For users who prefer a fixed point, Prestalib Smartphones turns library-owned devices into shared terminals.
From product to practice
Apps in real university libraries.
Explore public examples of Prestalib on users’ own phones.
Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha
prest.ON
The university explains how students use the app for borrowing, returns, renewals and catalogue access.
View the university service
Universidad del País Vasco
Prestalib UPV/EHU
A published app for account access, borrowing and returns with a compatible NFC phone.
View the App Store listingThese are examples of university use. Features and configuration vary by institution.
Frequently asked questions
Self-checkout,
answer by answer.
What is library self-checkout?
Library self-checkout is the service that lets a person register the loan of a library item by themselves, without going to the service desk. The system identifies the user and the item, checks circulation policies in the library management system, records the loan and deactivates the item’s security alarm.
What is the difference between self-checkout and self-return?
Self-checkout records an item leaving the library and deactivates its alarm. Self-return records the item coming back, reactivates the alarm and returns it to circulation. They are two separate operations: some libraries offer only the first, and systems handle returns differently because the item has to be physically received.
What types of library self-checkout systems exist?
There are three main formats: the fixed self-checkout machine or kiosk with an RFID reader, the self-service point running on a library-owned tablet or smartphone, and self-checkout on the user’s own phone through NFC or barcode. All three can coexist in the same library.
What does a library need to offer self-checkout?
It needs a library management system the self-service system can talk to, a way to identify users, items identified with RFID or barcodes and, if security gates are installed, a way to manage the item’s security state. Everything else is a matter of circulation policy and implementation.
Does self-checkout work with any library management system?
Prestalib is compatible with most modern library management systems via SIP2. The connection is built for the system your library already uses, through SIP2 or other available mechanisms, and adapted to your user authentication and circulation policies.
Does self-checkout replace library staff?
No. It moves routine transactions to the user and frees staff time for specialist support, training and research help. The service desk is still needed for exceptions, special materials and cases self-service does not cover.
Your next step
Your quote,
in two minutes.
Starting prices on show, a compatibility check and a formal PDF quote for your university, without waiting for a call: the access link goes to your institutional email.