The Friends of the Central Arkansas Libraries is putting a stop to book scanning at its used book sales starting with the one this weekend, July 16-18. Treasure hunters searching for first editions and other valuable books overlooked by FOCAL have been blocking aisles scanning the ISBN number on books with devices that read out what the book is being sold for on ebay and other bookseller sites. Spokesperson Susan Gele said these people have been scanning each and every book on a shelf — sometimes in pairs, with one to pull the book out and another to read the ISBN number — and blocking browsers’ access to the books.
Gele said FOCAL has no problem with people getting a deal on the books. She just wants buyers to be able to get to the shelves.
The new regulation all other electronic devices that can read the numbers.