Use of QR codes for enhancing access to library resources and services: a case study of IIT Gandhinagar library

Abstract

The Quick Reference (QR) Code is the trademark for two-dimensional barcode (or matrix barcode). This code system has become a popular technology in the present era because of its fast readability and greater storage capacity compared to the standard barcode. The QR code is a multidimensional barcode with various colour, size, and shapes. The main goal of this code is to direct communities to particular products or resources through links. Quick Response Code is, usually developed, for product promotion like the barcodes. This paper attempts to present a quick overview of the technology and how libraries adopted it early, to promote their resources and services. IIT Gandhinagar library has been one of the early users of this technology for promoting its services amongst its user community. It has adopted and demonstrated the benefits of this technology by applying it to over a dozen areas of library services. Because of its ease of use and speed, it has been observed that during the last two-three years, acceptance and use of this technology among the current generation of students has gone up for retrieving and downloading information. In fact, more number of students have been asking for applying QR in other areas of library services. Authors present here a successful case study of how QR code technology has been implemented at IIT Gandhinagar Library on Android-based mobile phones and how it has now become a part of the routine application for enhancing access to library resources and services.