QR codes or How I learn to stop worrying and to love the squares
QR codes are not a new technology. They were first created in 1994 by a Toyota subsidiary.
As you can see, it is a two-dimensional barcode. It encodes simple text data.
But you can also get URLs http://www.murdoch.edu.au/
And phone numbers +61893602146
Various libraries have been experimenting them in different ways.
The first time I saw them being used in libraries, the University of Technology, Sydney, was using them for just-in-time help.
I considered doing this at Murdoch University as well, unfortunately there were issues with mobile phone reception in the building.
Then, at ALIA Access, I saw the University of Queensland using them in a novel fashion.
Put them in your catalogue so that people don’t need to write down holdings information any more! Dr. Strangelove [videorecordi... Call: FS 791.4372 D75601 Loc 1: STH ST: NW 2 FS
After talking to my mole in UQ, I got the code and we implemented it in our staging catalogue.