A Modest Defense of QR Codes in the Library

Last summer, the library where I work began to use QR codes to link our print serials to their electronic counterparts. In short, we created a code for each title, and scanning that code will take one to a site, usually in a database, where one can search issues we don't have in print. I wouldn't say it's tremendously successful, but a large part of that is because few people use our print serials, and our budget reflects that. Since I've been here, our print serials budget has contracted by fifty percent, and that's no accident. I'd rather spend money elsewhere. But we do what we can to promote our resources, and QR codes are a part of that.

In addition, we're linking the stacks, in which books are shelved by subject area, to online resource guides, also using QR codes, and we're going to do something similar for individual books, at least the more popular ones, based on how often they circulate. For these and reserve books, we're going to link to online resource guides and our federated search, via QR code stickers in the books. All of this is trackable, so we'll see how it goes. Just as important, all of this is free. All it costs is time. And so when I see QR codes under attack, I'm a bit confused; healthy skepticism is always a good lens to view technology, but nobody is forcing anyone to use them. Here are some of the (increasingly) popular critiques.

I'll expand on these below, and add two others.

1. The first two tweets, which come to us via the Handheld Librarian conference and American Library Association Mid-Winter Meeting, Tech Trends, respectively, state that QR codes are a fad.
2. The third, also from ALA Mid-Winter, refers to QR codes as a prime example of the "garbage can" model of decision-making. 
3. QR codes are hideously ugly.
4. The neo-Marxist and/or (post)structuralist critique.

I will tackle these arguments in order.

Calling QR codes a fad is a bit like calling VHS tapes or compact discs a fad. These codes have been employed in Japan for over 15 years. Yes, they probably won't last, but what technology does? Fifteen years is quite a bit of time for a "transitional technology." Moreover, by any metric one chooses, QR code scans are increasing, not decreasing. If this is a fad, it's still on the upswing. 

The second critique is paradoxically both more powerful and less so. Is it the former because I can't disagree with it. It is the latter, because, well, who cares? Yes, QR codes may be a solution in search of a problem, but if one's aims, one's goals, are limited, they are a powerful and elegant solution to a problem. There is a proverb that goes something like, "If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail." And yet, we, as librarians, have many tools in our tool belts. QR codes are one of them. They are not a panacea, nor should they be. Have modest goals and expectations in mind, and they may serve you well. 

The third misses the point completely. If one thinks QR codes are ugly, then make them more attractive. All one needs to do to manipulate a code, turning it into something approximating art, is have a computer, an internet connection, and an imagination. Furthermore, the author of this article, also referenced above at number 3, fails to understand that QR codes differ from writing down a URL (and why not do both, if this is the concern?) because scanning a code is participatory and interactive in ways that writing something down are not. And that brings us to the fourth critique.

QR codes, according to neo-Marxists and/or (post)structuralists, offer the illusion of participation, of interactivity, but nothing more. It is no accident, according to this criticism, that QR codes began as advertisements, and that the barcode itself was popularized to sell Wrigley's gum is another piece of evidence cited in this school(s) of thought. Libraries should be spaces free of the trappings of late 20th- and early-21st century capitalism, a refuse from ads, from otherwise-omnipresent corporate activities. In this critique, scanning a code is not a form of play, it is something more insidious because the codes themselves are inextricably linked to their origins. Thus, the codes function as advertisements, but are cloaked in play, in interactivity. QR codes, to paraphrase Joseph Schumpeter, prepare souls for capitalism.

I admit that this final critique appeals to the academic in me, and as always, discussion is welcomed. I do think it is possible to divorce QR codes from their origins, to make them emancipatory. Again, they are a tool, no more evil than a hammer or a screwdriver. What QR codes serve, what role they play, determine their worth. A counter-argument that takes the neo-Marxists and/or (post)structuralists head on would state that QR codes are a symbol of modernity, a sign and signifier of technological prowess, that the library "gets it," whatever it is, though such an argument would still be structured within a capitalist hegemony.

SOPA Poster QR Code At my place of work, QR codes work. We have limited goals for them, and they suffice. And we're not alone. There's a wiki page devoted to using QR codes in library settings, mentioning what works, and what does. Our most popular library blog post achieved that distinction almost solely because I papered the campus with these flyers on January 17th, 2012. There were 80 views via the QR coded embedded on the flyer, far more than the results for the traditional way of viewing the blog, via a browser and mouse click. All that in 48 hours, on a campus with a full-time enrollment of 2400 students. In part, this is a function of our user population. Many, if not most, do not own a computer, or have internet access, but many, if not most, own a smartphone. In sum, we know our audience and we have limited aims for how we use QR codes. They do what we want them to, no more, and no less. Below is my presentation at the Catholic University of America's School of Library Science Bridging the Spectrum 2012 Symposium (quite a name, yes?), in which I say just this, with funny pictures (image credits in the presentation), some of which are above. Qr Codes Cua-slis

The Library as Aquarium, or, The SOPA Post

Over the weekend I went to the Baltimore Aquarium. One of the things that struck me was how well the aquarium has integrated conservation into its exhibits, its building, its mission. The dolphin show has a message about littering in the ocean; the shark exhibits have interactive games concerning bycatch and the evils of shark fin soup; there’s an entire exhibit about the relationship between jellyfish and human activity; and the cafeteria has locally-sourced food and biodegradable or reusable utensils and plates. It wasn’t always like this, of course. Twenty-five years ago none of this would have been included in the aquarium. It was a place to look at fish.

And that brings us to libraries. And the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA. And the Research Works Act, or RWA. Libraries have not integrated our equivalents of conservation into our shelves, computer labs, exhibits, buildings, or missions. That needs to change.

What forms will resistance to SOPA and RWA, and their future spawn take? For starters, signage

• in the stacks concerning banned books and censorship;
• QR codes with links to contact local, state, and national representatives on issues important to the library and its patrons;
• near computers and in computer labs, reminding patrons of the importance of net neutrality.

Also, programs, events, and blog posts that address the importance of net neutrality, open access, and a copyright system that strikes a balance between rewarding creators and society writ large.

The integration of conservation into the aquarium is natural, and organic, not tacked on. We need to do the same in libraries.

This is a woefully incomplete start, but it’s a start all the same. What would you do? What will you do?

*Image via blackoutsopa.org. Do visit them.

Road Trip: From Blog to Conference

I’ll be presenting at two conferences in early 2012 on topics that began as blog posts in 2011. Prior to those posts, each was an attempt, successful, I’d say, to improve the library where I work. Also, it’s not a real road trip. These conferences are in Washington, DC, so they won’t require any travel. In fact, both are on the same Metro line, and the first conference is about half a mile down the street from where I work.

At Catholic University of America’s School of Library Science Bridging the Spectrum 2012 Symposium I’m presenting on using QR codes to link digital holdings to print. More details are here.

I’ll be exploring QR codes a bit more in depth at the 2012 meeting of Computers in Libraries as part of a panel. At that conference I’ll also be presenting on transforming library spaces, the subject of this post.

In both cases, the blog posts served as rough formats for abstracts that were accepted at these conferences. I used more academic language, of course, but the content and structure are otherwise unchanged. My staff and I identified problems, then thought of solutions. QR codes can be tracked, numerical data on building and space usage collected, so defining success was relatively easy for each project. What makes for a good read here makes for a good one on a conference submission form as well. I think these experiences are applicable elsewhere, and I’m eager to be part of the conversation on these topics.

Standby for witty and irreverent slide decks closer to each of the conferences.

QR Codes: Quick, Easy, Cheap

A quick and easy use for QR codes at the library: take your online serials to the print serials. Here’s how.

1. You’ve got a master list of all print serials you subscribe to, right? If not, make one.
2. For each print serial, use your link resolver (my place of work doesn’t have one of these, which is a problem. I’m working on it) and/or database and/or OPAC (yeah, I just used that term, I'm old) that holds the online version, and get a stable URL for each title.
3. Use these URLs to create QR codes, for free, at QRStuff.com. Feel free to pretty them up.
4. Get yourself a smartphone, even if you’re borrowing one from another staff member. Install the free app ATT Scanner on an iPhone, or the QR Droid app, also free, on an Android phone.
5. Quality control: make sure even first generation smartphones, like my 3G iPhone, for example, can read the QR codes. Expand or contract the size of the codes as needed.
6. Print out the QR codes, and make sure to protect the paper, which might include laminating (expensive) or well-deployed packing tape (cheaper). Perform more quality control.
7. Place the corresponding QR code next to where each print serial is shelved. Post instructions in clearly visible locations. Don’t forget the details; at some libraries patrons may have to join a wireless network to access online serials.
8. Shamelessly promote it. Library blog posts, table toppers, posters... you get the idea.

Why do this?

1. Having the ability to search past issues of a title next to the more current paper issues can help patrons conduct research.
2. QR codes are hip, modern, and interactive. Making your library a hipper, more modern, more interactive place to be will pay off for you.
3. Many of the patrons at MPOW (my place of work) don’t have internet access at home, except for smartphones. It’s a tool that they’re comfortable with. We as librarians should be comfortable with it as well, and as we see smartphone use on the rise, I hope that vendors begin to design easy to use mobile sites alongside more traditional interfaces. In the meantime, let's bring the library to our patrons, via QR codes and mobile computing.