Quick Response codes are taking off in popularity
IN THE CITY
by Lisa Neal Shaw
Have you seen some interesting patterned squares popping up lately in magazines, newspapers, in stores or on merchandise? They look like a secret code, and in fact they are codes — specifically QR codes.
QR (Quick Response) codes are methods of compacting a great deal of information into one small square area. QR codes can contain a link to a website, text, information for receiving a discount on a product or just about any other type of information. They are very similar to the UPC (Universal Product Code) bar codes we are all very familiar with by now. The main difference is in the amount of information a QR code can handle versus a bar code.
A bar code generally corresponds to a numerical record in a database, such as a patron account at the library, a book at the bookstore or a grocery item at the supermarket. The grocery industry first gave rise to the bar code, which assumed its most familiar appearance and use in the 1970s from IBM. As with most “necessity as the mother of invention” situations, somebody looked at the procedure for checking out a grocery item, checking the price, taking stock of what had sold and re-ordering and thought, “There must be a more efficient way to do this.”
Likewise, QR codes arose in the 1990s from Denso Wave, a subsidiary of Toyota, when they needed a more efficient way to track auto parts. The bar code is created as a horizontal code “picture” which is scanned with a bar code scanner to retrieve information. The QR code goes further by allowing information to be encoded into its picture both horizontally and vertically (thus the square). This way, far more information can be encoded into one little square.
QR codes are taking off in popularity for a number of reasons. First, people love codes, whether it’s a decoder ring, a cipher tablet, or those neat invisible ink pens that reveal hidden messages. Second, putting a great deal of extra information into a small and visually pleasing area is not a new idea; monks working on illuminated texts would often employ “historiated initials” at the beginning of a text, which included a pictorial depiction of action within the text or even of the author himself worked into the form of the initial letter of a section of text. Third, QR codes don’t require special scanners: With a quick free app or software download, any phone or handheld device with a camera and an Internet connection — or any computer with a web cam and Internet — can quickly scan and decode the information on the QR code, taking the person scanning to the website or text embedded in the code. Fourth, QR codes don’t cost anything to create; in fact, for those websites with long unwieldy URLs, Google (among other services) provides a URL shortener which will also generate an instant QR code for the site or page.
So what are businesses and customers doing with these Quick Response codes? Some people are using them on their business cards. A typical business person has a number of ways to be contacted nowadays, and different methods work best for different clients. For example, you might have your professional profile picture, your name, your physical business address, a mailing address, a business telephone number, fax number, mobile number, e-mail address, website URL, Facebook page, Twitter account, LinkedIn profile, instant message handle, tag line and business logo to share. Many professionals are putting all this information on a V-card, which is a digital business card easily traded between computers and/or handheld devices.
A QR code can be printed out to replace all that information on one business card with a company name and logo, for instance. That same encoded information can also be put on schwag – those personalized bags, coffee cups, T-shirts, posters or other items given away at conventions. A dynamic QR code will even be able to keep up with information changes without generating another code.
In South Korea, a current QR trend is for customers to have an account with a grocery store chain. This grocery store in turn has pictures of various grocery items, such as milk, bread, eggs, posted in city subways with QR codes for each. Customers waiting for their train can do their grocery shopping while they wait, scanning items and having their order ready to pick up at the store. Ebook sellers can post QR codes in airports or other waiting areas for customers to scan, purchase and download a best-seller.
The library has a QR code that is being added to marketing materials, interlibrary loan book slips, and other items. The use of a QR code is limited only by the imagination of the people using them. They’re a great deal of fun for customers to use as well, like a digital scratch ticket.
If you have any questions about creating, scanning, or otherwise employing QR codes or other digital media, we invite you to contact or visit Mark & Emily Turner Memorial Library. You can call 764-2571, or scan our QR code for a myriad of other ways to talk to us.
Lisa Neal Shaw is a reference librarian at Presque Isle’s Mark & Emily Turner Memorial Library. She can be reached at 764-2571 or via e-mail at lisanealshaw@presqueislelibrary.org
