QR code (abbreviated from Quick Response Code)
is the trademark A barcode is an optical machine-readable representation of data
relating to the object to which it is attached.
QR code's potential lies in automating information retrieval
and bridging the physical world to online resources. By using the camera on
one's smart device loaded with the appropriate software, users can take a
picture of the code and automatically gather Web addresses, location and
contact information, small amounts of text, and other important pieces of
information.
Through QR codes, libraries are beginning to experiment with
new ways to improve user experience and broaden users' information gathering
capabilities. The library linking to catalog records, reader advisory services,
marketing/resource discovery through scavenger hunts, and other inventive uses.
Offer audio books via a download to the user's cell phone. From this QR codes the
library is able to extend into non-traditional locations with minimal capital.
The opportunities for libraries also include increased positive impressions and
usage frequency. QR codes could be a powerful reinforcement of the library's
commitment to the communities it serves.
How to provide services for those who do not own computers??
The digital
divide is still a concern, but less so now in the U.S. Libraries have,
especially in urban settings, negated issues of the digital divide through
computer acquisitions. However, mobile devices, in particular smart phones
capable of reading & translating qr codes, can not be treated the same.
‘’Since
the mid-1990s the explosion of the Internet has prompting intense speculation
about its ultimate impact upon the economy, society and politics. Many hope
that the Internet will be a powerful new force capable of transforming existing
patterns of social inequality, strengthening linkages between citizens and
representatives, facilitating new forms of public engagement and communication,
and widening opportunities for the development of a global civic society. But will the Internet transform conventional forms of democratic activism, or only serve to reinforce the existing gap between the technologically rich and poor? Will it level the playing field for developing societies, or instead strengthen the advantages of post-industrial economies? Will parties, interest groups, and governments use the Net to encourage interactive participation, or will the technology be used as another form of ‘top-down’ communications’’digital divide www.hks.harvard.edu/fc/pnorris/book/digital divide.htm
