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QR Codes
Scan with smartphone to link to MSL mobile website
Has images similar to this one caught your eye lately? Wonder what they are and how they work? Do they have a place in your library today? Why are they important?
What they are and how they work
These QR or Quick Response codes - two dimensional barcodes with embedded information are decoded by a smartphone with camera and a QR code reader, providing the user with a URL, bits of text, a phone number or an email address.
Why QR codes are important now
- Think of the numbers of smartphone users today 50+ million and growing
- QR codes are FREE to generate and use.
- Your PR/marketing wont be limited in terms of length, size and space.
- Mobile access to the Web is expanding rapidly
Opportunities to use
- Info on how to text a message or email a librarian to ask a question, either within a large library (like back in the stacks) or from outside the library.
- Add to promotional print materials, linking to an event registration, information, and more. (I used a QR code to link to all the Maine public libraries who participated in Food, Not Fines. The list allowed people to find a library, their phone numbers and hours open.)
- Link to reader advisory materials online, right from a popular book. (Lots of companies are inserting promotional QR code within magazines)
- Add contact information to your device
How to create QR codes
- Use a QR Code generator and add your information. Save the image and copy to your poster, document or web page. Use a minimum number of characters or the QR image will not scan well. Try http://grcode.kaywa.com with others out there now.
- Important! Your audience (those on the move with their phones) needs to go to web page that displays well on a smartphone or to only receive an email address or phone number. Think mobile use!
