I Demand A QR! QR Codes and the Archives, Part 1

Ah, technology. You know, technology use to mean new mechanical devices, new medical discoveries, and new weaponry--at least in the Roaring 1920s. Nowadays, a person's first thought about hearing of a new technology is "I guess that means they are close to cloning now" or "What new miniature camera have they developed?" Life has come far and fast since I was a naive 14-year old in the year 2000. I was still typing papers on a word-processing typewriter my oldest sister owned. The tides have turned, and everything digital has creeped into water cooler conversations and library policy. The newest hot-button ticket are QR codes, or "Quick Response Codes." They are, very simply, "a small square barcode readable by mobile phones and webcams. It can link to a website, an address or other contact info, a video, an animation or other web content" (Source 1). To be more exact, QR codes are two-dimensional bar codes, capable of having their image imaged from numerous different angles, instead of the typical bar code scanner that almost has to be perfectly aligned horizontally in order to read the code. The means of access the information on QR codes has become a reality for widespread use with the rapid development and availability of 3G, 4G, and now 5G cellular phones with descent-resolution digital cameras included.

QR codes are "popular in Japan, where they are used for commercial tracking, logistics, inventory control, and advertising. Their popularity is climbing in Europe, the United States, and Canada as people increasingly use mobile phones to access 3G networks" (Source 2). Webcams are also capable of scanning QR codes, but their interpretation depends on a software that can interpret the images. Also, in order to create QR codes, you must have a QR codes generator (many of which are free online). So, why are they such a big deal, particularly in university and inventory use? Unlike most things in the world, QR codes offer just what their name implies--quick access: "Scanning a QR Code and storing or accessing data directly using your mobile device is more efficient and convenient than writing information down or typing URLs into your mobile device" (Source 3).


The QR Code for this archival blog.

In the non-profit sector, museums, libraries, historical societies, historic walking tour programs, public transportation systems, and a variety of others are using QR codes to connect easy access to easy information location. Why take notes on a notepad in a museum (especially when these days items you can take into public buildings is limited) when you can snap a photo, mark the information for future unlimited access, and continue on your tour of the museum without missing a beat? I personally saw QR codes used extensively in Chicago this summer, particularly in the Art Institute of Chicago. As web browsers have drawn researchers and the general public to using web browsers for marking research (as I do often, through my bookmark feature), the same thing is provided "on-the-go" through QR codes. The idea is very popular now in libraries, which are looking for any low-cost ways to integrate seamlessly new technology into libraries' traditional services and collection offerings. QR codes printed on normal sheets of paper posted on shelves, set alongside displays, and used to draw attention to new holdings is especially popular.

As for cultural institutions, mainly museums and archives, museums have become the greatest user of QR codes, with archives slowly catching up to their possibilities. Even when most archives utilize QR codes, it is for exhibits of archival materials--not for processing, acquisitions, outreach, collections management, or organization. Luther College in Iowa, Mercer University in Georgia, and the National Archives (U.S.) are actively using QR codes in some ways related to their archives' workflow. As mentioned in my previous introductory post to QR codes, there are also some innovative ways in which this technology is being used by historical societies to highlight already online archival materials by other departments in the historical society.

This summer I worked in a summer position researching the entire history of the Old Kentucky State Capitol Building (completed 1830) in Frankfort, Kentucky, for the Education Department of the Kentucky Historical Society. There was a lot of misinformation on the events, people, and construction of the building throughout its history, and I was to research in archives throughout the state (and virtually throughout the country) for primary materials to obtain copies for informational support of programing for the Education Department, particularly for adult audiences. In this time of the Civil War's 150th anniversary, this building was the only Union capitol to have ever been captured and occupied by Confederate forces (happening in 1862). I gave tours of a building with little ability to have extensive museum exhibits inside, and having large amounts of data to tell people within an hour. As KHS's Civil War tour series of the capitol building--held every Saturday afternoon, by the way-- started under way, the Education team was looking for new ways to utilize QR codes for this vital state history tour program.

Let me introduce you to my new good friend Greg Hardison, director of the Museum Theatre program for the Kentucky Historical Society. I have never met a man more excited about finding new archival material for programs, nor have I met a non-archivist whose loved archival materials so much as he. Greg headed the development of the Civil War tour series, and as I was researching the building, he and I worked a lot on records I found and ways to integrate them into tours (or what information would be interesting to visitors). Fortunately, the Special Collections of KHS has a large number of items online, particularly Civil War items. Towards the end of summer, Greg introduced me to QR codes, and that he was planning a program to print copies of our archival material out with QR codes linking the KHS Special Collections' materials to the copied item, for use in the tours. Copies of October 1862 newspapers to be browsed by visitors was great, but so much text on these old papers was hard to read while following a moving tour in a historic building.

Greg's solution: using QR codes printed onto copies of the archival materials would allow him to place items throughout the building without having to create a museum exhibit, while also letting people use their phones to bookmark the newspaper for later use. Literally, people were creating their own virtual archive to relate to the events that happened in the Old State Capitol to follow along with their tour. They could take these things with them on their phone, show the informational component of the tours to their friends and family without having to write down large amounts of information, and the other people could copy the links to learn as well--without having gone on the tour. The possibilities are tremendous, and the simplicity, yet high-impact value of the idea, floored me. Greg caught on something archivists rarely do, because Greg is not an archivist: his job is to entertain, attract, and instruct people in ways that they will find interesting, using visual and sensory interaction to engage the public. I got the hint: time for this archivist to think about applying QR codes to archives.

For full disclosure, I do not have a 3G phone (more because of finances), so I've never used QR codes. But I have extensive inventory use of bar codes in a library and retail sales setting, and have come to understand the value of fast reference via digital scanning capabilities. QR codes offer something archives can value: ways to link on their website specific lines of EAD archival finding aids to archival boxes, folders, and even items. You can print off QR codes on acid-free bond paper sheets, cut off the code, and slide it into the sleeve with the archival item! Archives can implement this new technology with the technology most libraries and individuals have on them already, and you do not need special program approval to institute this so much--you are not adding anything other than another means of using the Internet to connect to your collections from what is already in your archives' catalog. It gives people the option of reading all the archival material for museum exhibits or saving it for later--they might be interested, but have a headache, fussing with the kids, or in a hurry before closing time. Archives can be creative, adding designs to the codes or making them a point of a "treasure hunt" type of event in the archives (or museum).

While all of these things are great, I suggest going further: using the materials in processing archival collections, managing collections, managing acquisitions, and assisting researchers with citation information. All of this shall be discussed in Part 2. Part 3 will look at the mixed-uses of QR codes by museums in tandem with archives, and Part 4 will give my perspective of this newer technology in light of current events in archives. Stay tuned, will you?

Resources

1) “QR codes,” http://wic.library.upenn.edu/wicshops/qrcodes.html.

2) “7 things you should know about... QR Codes,” http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7046.pdf.

3) “About QR Codes,” http://www.georgefox.edu/offices/murdock/QRCodes.html.