qr codes | Blog | Deborah Fitchett

QR code for this blog, via
https://bitly.com/107etxA.qrcode

I have to admit to scepticism about QR codes in libraries. I see them everywhere, but (almost) the only time I hear success stories they turn out to be “Oh my goodness someone actually used it!” stories.

On the other hand, recently I am hearing more anecdata about students using QR codes in other contexts, so perhaps it’s just a matter of motivation and/or accustomisation.

Besides which, QR codes are pretty ridiculously easy to create and slap on a poster – it’s not like the time investment, say, Second Life required. Even so, you don’t want to clutter up important real estate (and potentially look a bit try-hard) if no-one’s actually going to use the code.

So how to track the usage of your QR codes? It’s just about as easy: if you create the QR code through a site like bitly.com (there are probably others, this is just what I’m familiar with) then it’ll keep count for you of how many people are following the code.

For example, a bitly URL gives you a QR code at https://bitly.com/107etxA.qrcode and a stats page at https://bitly.com/107etxA+. (The QR code and the original link will both take you to the target webpage and will both be tracked in the stats, but the “referrer” stats will tell you which visits came from a website and which came via the QR code.)

Best practice: If you are slapping these on a poster, spare a thought for those who don’t have a smartphone and include a human-readable URL as well. You could use that bitly one, in which case you might want to customise it when you first create it so it’s also human-memorable. 🙂

Out of curiosity: Is anyone out there already using QR codes and has their own success stories (whether quantitative or qualitative)?

QR Codes
(What’s a QR Code? See QR Codes: An Overview.)

Google has launched goo.gl, a URL shortening service (like tinyurl.com, bit.ly, etc) which as a bonus gives you a QR code: eg http://goo.gl/Xxyl links to this blog and http://goo.gl/Xxyl.qr gives you a pretty QR code you can paste onto a poster. Shortly thereafter, bit.ly joined in the fun.

On the downside I recall reading (somewhere on the internet; it sounded plausible at the time) that, cool as QR codes sound, since they’re mostly being used by advertisers, actual real people aren’t really all that keen on using them.[citation needed] On the upside, I’ve also heard anecdotes from people who do use them. And in any case they don’t cost any money and almost zero time.

Library tutorials

An old post I just came across: Subversive Handouts: One Librarian’s Secret Weapon – a sneaky way to get some extra face-time with a class.
When an imploring librarian is not enough – a sneaky way to get students to actually want to use Web of Science etc rather than Google Scholar

Open Access

Dramatic Growth of Open Access
The Economics of Open Access points out that “Every time a researcher or teacher cannot get to the information she needs to do her work, or must obtain it by labor-intensive means like interlibrary loan or direct contact with the author, time and knowledge, which are both worth money, are wasted; open access reduces that loss.”
Open access: the world is your consortium sees open access as a new solution for the inability of library consortia, let alone individual libraries, let alone individual scientists, to be able to afford access to journals.
Almost Halfway There: an Analysis of the Open Access Behaviors of Academic Librarians “presents results of a study of open access publishing and self-archiving behaviors of academic librarians” and discusses “several strategies to encourage academic librarians to continue embrace open access behaviors”.

Deborah Fitchett

Tag Archives: qr codes

Tracking usage of QR codes

Links of interest 20/10/2010