Newfangled 2D bar codes make info scan and go
This is a 2D barcode for my blog:
What does it do? Well, if I were to, say, print it onto the back of a business card, and someone scanned it with their barcode-reader phone, or took a picture of it with their camera-enabled phone and put it through a little phone app to translate it, this funny picture would take that person *directly* to my web site on their phone, without them needing to do the thumb-type cha-cha. If I wanted to point networking contacts to, say, a special web site to promote something I’ve worked on, or my LinkedIn profile, or whathaveyou, then I could make a barcode for each site, and push it along by way of a simple snapshot.
Now, imagine if this little barcode could to more. Actually, it can. You can pass along chunks of text, phone numbers, or perform express e-ticket check-in at Heathrow airport. Nate Hill actually has a plan to make these barcodes do more for Brooklyn Public Library, and encourages you to do the same for your library:
I got interested in this idea after hearing that this technology is fully blown up in Japan and that CitySearch San Francisco has been using 2Dbarcodes to identify restaurants. Why not create stickers for library branches? Why not add these images to our print flyers, thus enriching an old-fashioned paper format with readily accessible web information? Update: check out this online zine promoting 2D barcode projects and all of the exciting possibilities.
Below you will find 4 different links for each of our Brooklyn Public Library buildings. I’ve presented the barcodes in 2 different formats, datamatrix and QR. The first two links are PNG image files that can be copied and pasted into Microsoft Word docs, Photoshop, or Illustrator. Just copy and paste the barcode and you add a web page and all that interactivity to your flyer! The second two links are to PDF files of label templates. Each sheet has 6 stickers, and can be printed on Avery matte white labels size 8254, available from Staples here. Stick information about your local library anywhere! In addition I’ve added a link to PDF files of “ex libris” bookplate stickers that offer a barcode image linking you to the Brooklyn Public Library homepage. That should keep you busy and make your books look cool.
Say a patron requested some books or DVDs or something. What if, when their stuff came in, a text message with a little 2D barcode in it went to that person’s phone, and like the Heathrow check-in, they could have the circulation desk scan the barcode from their phone to pick up their stuff? That way, even if the person doesn’t have their card, the circ staff can check out the item to them with some assurance that they are who they say they are with their one-of-a-kind barcode message? (Yes, yes, given that they don’t just hand their phone to someone else, but I think you get my meaning here.)
Or, say a library kept a page called “2dannouncement.html” on their site, where the content could change according to what’s new at the library, then that library made a 2d barcode that pointed to that URL. Put that URL in the newspaper, on flyers, on bookmarks, in library books, and a mobile user could scan it for the latest information, event news, and recommended books at your library.
But I’m just thinking out loud here.
If you think this is cool (or, for some odd reason, not cool) definitely hit Nate’s post and tell him. Let your imagination run wild: if there was any type of information you wanted to be a quick scan away from a mobile user, what would it be? How would you use the 2D barcode to get it to the people? Or, how would you use the 2D barcode to get information from customers to you?
Cool topic, Andrea. Thanks for blogging about this. I’ll definitely look into it.
Great timing — as it happens, I discovered that a real working QR (and other 2D barcode) reader application has been released for the iPhone this week (just before your post). I grabbed it and was totally geeking out yesterday afternoon trying it out — it uses the iPhone’s own camera to capture the barcode, then decodes it (assuming you captured it well enough). The app is called 2D Sense; the homepage is http://www.2dsense.com/page.aspx?id=matrix&sid=0 and it’s available for free in the iTunes App Store.
Now, I’m just watching to see if I could find something similar to capture/decode UPC codes…
Luke
@Steve B: I’d love to know what you might use it for…
I once saw an exhibit at MIT that used 2D barcodes to point you to web sites as a sort of art project (see thumbnail).
I have a Blackberry 8830, which has no camera… when I upgrade to a Blackberry w/a camera, I’ll be all over it (in, say, a year or so, perhaps sooner, we’ll see).
Hey Andrea. I actually was generating barcodes for websites and email addresses using the web-based QR-Code Generator at http://qrcode.kaywa.com/
Actually, I noticed on that generator site that the host, Kaywa, has a QR-Code reader that works on a bunch of Nokia and SonyEricsson phones as well as a couple of Motorola and Samsung phones http://reader.kaywa.com/
@lukethelibrarian:
Ah. Awesome.
I wonder if there are any 2D readers for laptops (an idle thought as I write, totally uninvestigated)? I know it sounds a bit counterintuitive, but say you have a Eye-Fi card for your camera, and you can send the picture to a computer… would be neat to be able to read it.
I was just thinking it could be kinda neat if a library created local history information 2D codes. Go to a local institution, scan the code, and get info about the place + local history data at the library. Or, even, town tours and info for out-of-towners.
Oooo, it would be cool if public transit authorities posted 2D codes at transit/bus stops for up-to-date schedules, instead of the outdated schedules you always see.
I could totally see a geocaching use for it, too, especially for a multicache (of course it would get an automatic 5 difficulty rating due to the need for “special equipment).
More thoughts? Ideas?
i think the thing that makes me happiest about the 2D barcodes is how unmistakably opt-in they are. its easy enough to have info pushed to someone when they walk through a zone w/ a bluetooth enabled device. advertisers use directed sound to focus on people in specific locations. you get accidentaly sidetracked by pop-up windows or banners on the web. but these barcodes just sit there unless you want to do more with them. as an urban librarian swimming in a sea of advertisements, i’m interested in providing free access to information rather than pushing information on people… this is a neat way to do it.
n
Also: here’s the online zine for all things 2D barcode. Great geo stuff here. http://2d-code.co.uk/
Andrea, this bunch (QuickMark) has QR readers for a bunch more phones, plus one in beta designed for desktop use i.e. with webcam: http://www.quickmark.com.tw/En/basic/download.asp
You could also try this online decoder that allows you to upload an image file of a barcode: http://www.drhu.org/QRCode/QRDecoder.php