This Week in Libraries…11.09.10

Kinetic Typography – Language…11.09.10

Don’t Mind Your Language

Digital Media is Transforming Communication and Culture…11.09.11

¿El Paréntesis de Gutenberg? …”a week-long investigation into how digital media is transforming communication and culture”

QR Codes and Academic Libraries…11.09.10

Excerpted from November 2010 issue of C&RL News article QR codes and academic libraries:

“…There are several reasons to believe this may be the time to prepare for mainstream use of QR codes in the United States, and for academic institutions and libraries to start implementing this technology. The number of smartphones and Internet-enabled cell phones in this country is increasing rapidly. Marketing data says we should expect smartphones to be in the hands of half of all U.S. mobile users by the end of 2011. As handsets change, so do the ways we use these devices. Remember when students used to walk around campuses with their ears glued to their cell phones? Now we see them walking and texting. Voice has become less relevant, and the focus has transitioned to data.

The 2009 ECAR study of undergraduate students and information technology found that 51.2 percent of respondents owned an Internet-capable handheld device, and another 11.8 percent planned to purchase one within the next 12 months…

Examples of QR code uses in libraries include:

• Library exhibits that include a QR code link to songs, videos, Web sites, surveys, contests, etc. or other information that augments the exhibits.

• Codes in the library stacks/end caps or magazine/journal areas that point to online electronic holdings of print materials or related subject guides.

• Linking to library audio tours for orientations.

• Code added to print handouts for additional information on mobile friendly sites.

• QR code with text that loads the library’s text message reference service and other contact information into the patron’s phone.

• Art shows or permanent art in libraries with a QR code linking to the artists’ Web sites.

• In catalog records to offer patrons basic info about an item, including the location and call number. Users can scan the code and head to the stacks rather than writing or printing.

• Taped to video/DVD cases, linking to mobile-friendly video trailers.

• Code placed on staff directory pages and research guides that go to mobile friendly sites for later reference.

• Code placed on audio book cases for author interviews or books for reviews.

• Code placed on study room doors connecting to room reservation forms.

• Library video tutorials—individual videos or create a QR code to a YouTube playlists of videos, which create a great mobile home screen app that can be saved for easy access, as needed…

  Conclusion

  Academic libraries are poised to benefit from the momentum created by the uptake of QR codes in the corporate world and popular culture. However, for this to succeed, we need to take care to implement QR codes where they really make our users’ lives easier. Blanketing a library with QR codes that provide little value could backfire, leaving users less apt to try other QR codes. This could result in a lost opportunity for libraries and campuses to leverage a really useful technology…”

   

  SEE ALSO Making Physical Objects Clickable: Using Mobile Tags to Enhance Library Displays

  QR code resources:

  • URL shortener Bit.ly generates QR codes, as does Google’s URL shortener goo.gl
  • Kaywa QR code generator
  • WebbMedia’s QR Tipsheet from 2007 (PDF)
  • CNET’s list of QR code readers for your iPhone
  • Shop Savvy app for Android devices
  • That’s Great!’s list of top 300 “must read” QR code stories of 2010

   

   

Color Nook Introduction…11.08.10

Kindle 3 Ads for Christmas 2010…11.08.10

Social Strategist Plan for 2011…11.08.10

Digitizing the Dead Sea Scrolls…11.08.10

Online Conference on Building an Electronic Branch for Your Library…11.08.10

From OPAL – Online Programming for All Libraries:

Tuesday, November 16, 2010 beginning at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time, 10:00 Central, 9:00 Mountain, 8:00 Pacific, and 4:00 p.m. GMT:

Trendy Topics One-Day Online Conference on Building an Electronic Branch for Your Library

Over the course of the day a group of presenters (including keynote speaker David Lee King) will explore and discuss with participants how libraries are replacing their outdated websites with cutting edge, full service electronic branch libraries.

Please Note: Participants are required to register for this one-day conference and pay a small registration fee. This is the final Trendy Topic online conference for 2010, but the series will continue in January 2011.

Conference Website (includes registration info): Trendy Topics Conference Website

Organizer: TAP Information Services

 

U.S. Mobile Data Traffic To Exceed 1 Exabyte…11.08.10

From Mashable!

10 Things About Working in Libraries…11.08.10

Library Innovation…11.08.10

Social Games…11.08.10

Your Browser. Re-Imagined…11.08.10

The PIL 2010 Student Survey…11.07.10

The Future of Social Business…11.05.10

Going Mobile with Google Instant…11.05.10

Foreign Policy from Google…11.05.10

Follow-Up to the iPad – Dell Inspiron duo…11.05.10

Average U.S. Starting Salaries for New Librarians…11.04.10

From Library Journal:

“LJ‘s annual Placements & Salaries Survey, with 1,996 respondents representing 38.7% of the approximately 5160 2009 LIS graduates, found an uptick in starting salaries, but bigger bumps in part-time and temporary jobs, an expanding gender gap, setbacks for minority graduates, and a drop in the number of total graduates. On the up side, it also identified new roles in and beyond libraries, some regional hotspots and more silver linings. Participants relayed many tales of triumph and travail, illustrating another struggling job market with a few glimmers of hope and achievement.”

UNM Ask a Librarian…11.04.10

TED Talks: Re-engineering the Brain…11.04.10

“Imagining an augmented reality future that’s not an advertising hell”…11.04.10

Create 2D Barcodes (QR Codes, etc.) On the Fly With New Browser Extention…11.03.10

From Mashable!:

“ScanLife, maker of mobile barcode scanning applications, is today releasing a browser extension that lets users generate 2D barcodes — EZCode, QR code and Datamatriz — for any website, URL or image as they browse.

The ScanLife Browser Extension is available for Internet Explorer, Firefox and Chrome. Once installed, users can either click the ‘Add to ScanLife’ button while browsing or right-click on an image or link to automatically generate the code of their choosing for the entity.

Generated codes can be downloaded or shared on Facebook. Extension users can sign up with ScanLife or log in to their existing accounts to access and manage all previously generated codes. Business account holders can also access analytics for code scans.

With barcodes — especially QR codes — and scanning applications becoming more prevalent and recognizable, ScanLife’s new tool makes it easy for marketers and consumers alike to experiment with generating barcodes for web pages, images and links as they browse.”

Librarians and the Echo Chamber Effect…11.03.10

Ebooks & Impact…11.02.10