Westchester Library Association

Leveraging Library Services UsingQR Codes

May 13, 2011

ProfessorsBen Turner &

P. Charles LivermoreSt John’s University

At the end of the presentation you should know

1. What a QR code is2. What they can do3. What you need to read them4. Some non-library uses of QR Code5. How a LIBRARY might find them useful6. How to create a QR code7. How to keep track of their usage8. Some caveats9. What’s on the horizon

1

What is a QR Code?

2 What do QR Codes do?

1. Create a link- take you to a website

2. Create a phone number- dial a phone number for you

3. Create text- provide textual information

4. Other

3

How do you read QR Code?

Virtually any smart phone w/camera can read QR code.

Some newer models have code scanners pre-installed.

Other smart phones require installation of code scanners, which are usually free.

4

Non-library Uses of QR Code

Increasing use of QR Code

A ProQuest Direct search performed on 5/9/2011 using the phrase

qr code

retrieved 463 articles.

359 of these were published in the past year.

Street ad

Announcesavailability of“28 weekslater” DVD

ProvidesLink.

Provides a link to more pictures of the house.It’s $229,000 and near Westchester PA

5How might a LIBRARY

find them USEFUL?

Increasing use of Smart Phones

• The “ACRL top ten trends in Academic Libraries” predicts that “explosive growth of mobile devices and applications will drive new services.”

• The 2010 Horizon Report predicts that mobile computing through the use of devices like smart phones will play an increasingly prominent role in education.

• A survey at Ryerson University predicted that by 2011, 80% of its students would own smart phones.

Stephen Leacock

Frenzied Fiction

Other ways to use QR Code1. step-by-step instructions on machines like

photocopiers and printers2. QR codes around campus could link to digital

libraries or items from special collections related to the different buildings

3. Library tours – barcodes can be placed in different areas of the library so visitors can access information relevant to that particular space

4. Link to Phone number on a web page so people don’t have to dial the number on their phone

5. Other uses we haven’t though of…

Implicationsexpanded pedagogical value

•students might research information about local sites, write up what they have learned •generate QR code for their content •post the codes at key destinations •tour the sites other students have posted. •move students outside the bounds of the campus and into city centers, historic neighborhoods, and manufacturing districts, where learning becomes a matter of exploration

http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7046.pdf

6

How to Create aQR Code

Creating QR Codehttp://qrcode.kaywa.com/

7

How to Gather Statistics

Microsoft

Microsoft Code Statistics Report

Compromise Solution

• Don’t take statistics for everything.– NO stats for phone numbers– NO stats for SMS service– NO stats for text service

• Take states only for links to websites

How to get stats for QR web links

Get the URL for the destination website.Go to bit.ly (or some other url abbreviator)Shorten the URLCreate your QR code with that URL

Bit.ly gathers statistics for each shortened URL you create.

8

Some Caveats

Not everyone is aware of QR codesMay not know to use their cell phone

Not all phones read QR code Downloads necessary for some

Public acceptance may lag

http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7046.pdf

9

What’s on the Horizon

AUGMENTED REALITY

AUGMENTED REALITY

Further ReadingAshford, Robin. "QR Codes and Academic Libraries." College & Research Libraries News 71.10 (2010):

526-30.

Pulliam, Beatrice, and Chris Landry. "Tag, You're It! Using QR Codes to Promote Library Services." Reference Librarian 52.1/2 (2011): 68-74. Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts. EBSCO.

Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki. "QR Codes." 17 November 2010.Web. <http://www.libsuccess.org/index.php?title=QR_Codes>.

"Qr Codes to Extend Library's Reach in Contra Costa, Ca." Library Journal 135.1 (2010): 22-5. Subagio, Cliffano. "QR Code Usage in Japan." 2010.Web. <

http://blog.cliffano.com/2009/05/18/qr-code-usage-in-japan/>.

Walsh, Andrew. "QR Codes - using Mobile Phones to Deliver Library Instruction and Help at the Point of Need." Journal of Information Literacy 4.1 (2010): 55-63.

Augmented Realityhttp://librarianbydesign.blogspot.com/search/label/augmented%20reality

END