Systems and methods for the self-checkout of secured items from a lending establishment

摘要

The present invention provides systems and methods for the self-checkout of secured items from a lending or sales establishment. A self-checkout system may be configured to determine a patron's eligibility to checkout items. Subsequently, the system may be configured to determine whether an item wished to be checked out by a patron is stored in a secure locked case. The present invention provides means for allowing the patron to unlock the secure locked case without the need of library staff assistance. A blocking mechanism is provided which controls access to the unlocking mechanism such that a patron may only unlock a secure locked case when authorized to do so by the system.