I Demand A QR! QR Codes and the Archives, Part 2

Well, after a long delay, I offer my thoughts and approaches to utilizing QR codes in the processing and increasing access to archival collections. After three months of research, I located virtually nothing regarding the application of QR code technology to the archival workflow. The challenges of doing such a thing are immense, and at the heart of being able to release a new virtual dream in QR codes revolves around the URL. As QR codes mandate either constant updating of changing URL addresses (for example, in the university library environment, where university IT departments can change sites during redesign processes) or a stable base URL address from which to develop QR codes for archival materials, few mass processing experiments have occurred in this realm. Let's ponder, for a moment, how in a perfect world a QR code could work in archival processing: let's say you have a three-box collection of family letters, and you are processing the collection in an EAD-formatted finding aid. Rather than chose to process at item-level, you arrange the letters by creator then by year (possibly including month), and group those years within folders. After a completed finding aid is ingested into an online EAD finding aid repository at the institution, you print off QR codes on sheets of acid-free paper (regular Georgia-Pacific printer/copier white paper is acid-free and could be used to mitigate increased processing expenses) corresponding to each folder in the EAD finding aid folder list, and place the QR code in the front of the folder for use by patrons and archives' staff. With the added dimension of QR codes connected to the EAD folder list, a processor could attach tags, extra information learned during processing about the letters in the folder, or cross-reference similar content in other folders with the one the patron is exploring. The possibility here is of adding a social and scholarly element to EAD finding aids, not currently possible with paper finding aids or PDF finding aids typically found in most archives.

Beyond this, a processor could attach a QR code on a label to the collection boxes, which leads a patron to the box list or finding aid for that particular box/collection, without having to print out paper finding aids or locate the finding aid in a single master finding aid binder (especially when more than one individual needs access to the finding aid binder). With a simple camera phone, archives can expand tremendously the ability of the patron to freely explore the descriptive content for the collection prior to even exploring individual items within the collection. Applying tags to EAD finding aids (structured tags corresponding to common archival descriptive language/subject terms) will allow users, researchers, and staff to, with the snap of a camera phone, explore which other collections will have similar materials, which collection folders match specific items or folders in another collection, and possible assist archivists at an institution in figuring out what portions of a collection they have not made EAD-compatible. The archives could purchase several inexpensive, security-tagged smart phones with limited internal network/Internet capabilities that can be used to explore the archives' collections. If processing of collections is the point at which both EAD concepts and QR codes are applied, in a 5-10 year period, an archives could explode the scope of their social networking outreach, relevancy to younger generations, keep in-step with current digital researching trends, and save the time it will take years down the road to attempt to make their collections web-relevant or "e-discoverable." Instead of forcing archives staff to know or look up keywords and subject information on subjects they may not know, the staff could use the inter-connectedness of QR-coded EAD finding aids to locate ties between materials in a way that extreme cross-referenced 3"x5" card catalogs previously had in archives (though several major archives still utilize these systems, such as the Filson Historical Society of Louisville, Kentucky). Time will be saved, connections will be found, standardized archival terminology will be maintained, and users will feel like they are on a unique, self-developed treasure hunt for historical records.

Much the same way that genealogists utilize family trees to help trace family history or connections amongst individuals, so QR codes could become the virtual branches in archival processing amongst collections. I would also add that temporary QR codes could be printed off during the records survey and inventory period, ascribed to boxes or piles of material (using a bookmarking system with the QR code) and harnessed along the way to ensure all records or boxes have been investigated (or that you are note accidentally going over the same materials again, adding them to the inventory twice). Automatic lists could be generated to match the QR codes in such a way that will allow an archivist to continue to using the same QR code and merely change the title or name corresponding with it. This process would speed up the creation of EAD find aids, though new QR codes would be needed at the point of conversion to EAD for the finding aid. QR codes used in this manner would demand each institution to have a closed network space with the ability of the archivists to create unique URLs that it could apply at-will during the inventory or processing phase, in relation to QR code creation. A negative of this approach would be added waste of paper and ink as temporary QR code sheets are created.

As the QR code scanner/reader systems get better developed and more robust, they now are holding the ability to track the usage of the code. A New York-based company called BeQRious offers the following abilities with QR codes that correspond quite nicely with the needs or archives in processing: "Our code management dashboard lists all your QR codes for you, what campaigns they belong in, the content they resolve to, whether they are active or not, statistics and an option to mail them. You could even delete or edit your QR code from this interface. You could also specify to view all QR codes for a certain group or campaign. If you are not sure which QR code you’re looking for, you could search for it" (http://beqrious.com/qr-code-tracking/, emphasis added). Dynamic QR codes allow a user to alter the URL information, using the same QR code while relocating the URL--an option that would be greatly beneficial to archives and save on resources from reprinting or re-creating codes to match the archival collections: "Dynamic QR codes allow you to edit the code's destination at any time. These dynamic codes are a great solution to someone who wants to experiment with QR codes without having to constantly re-create these cute little squares!" (http://trakqr.com/).

A fun option that could be both a part of outreach, professional communication, internal institution development and programing, and other similar situations would be to print off a QR code book, containing on sheets of paper the QR codes matching archival collection finding aids or collection abstracts, as well as possibly collection folder QR codes. This book or binder could be carried with the archivist or archives manager to meetings where individuals can utilize their smart phones to look at information simply by passing around the binder. It will allow for interaction and compact advertisement of archival collections holdings in such small gatherings, giving individuals the option to explore more in-depth your holdings if they so desire and at their own rate, while giving other equal opportunity to explore the same materials in their own time.

While this all sounds great, the reality is this is not feasible as the state of archives in the U.S. stands as of now. Meissnner and Greene in their famous article on "More Product, Less Process," noted that a 1998 Association of Research Libraries study of its member institutions' special collections found roughly that one-third of collections are unprocessed. With the limits in staff, technological training, IT staff and network systems, as well as economic factors, having archival collections prepared in such a way to be able to utilize QR codes may not be realistic (http://ahc.uwyo.edu/documents/faculty/greene/papers/Greene-Meissner.pdf). EAD is still mostly utilized by major institutions for electronic finding aids--many small and medium-sized institutions have not developed metadata schemas or electronic finding aid formats (there is still a heavy reliance on PDF and Word document finding aids, if there are finding aids at all). Also, institutional leadership may resist the application of QR code technology in the same way that other more advanced technological tools are being resisted: agism, lack of exposure or technological understanding, and resistance to change can all play factors here. A more simply challenge to using QR codes in processing is a base issue of the smart phone itself. With the challenges archival institutions face regarding copyright laws, intellectual property protection, and other similar privacy concerns, allowing patrons and staff alike to use camera-based phones in an archival setting is a major concern. Not only could images be taken of materials restricted by donors or containing private personal information (such as telephone numbers and Social Security numbers), but replication of images by a patron and posting to social networking sites could harm the financial reliance of archives on charges for photo reproduction/scanned images. As mentioned previously, though, an archives could have closed-system smart phones that will allow users the benefits of QR codes while maintaining the protection of archival collections. There are solutions, but they demand planning and consistent implementation by all staff (including student workers and graduate students). Students who are users especially will have a hard time understand or accepting why they can use the archives' smart phones but not their own for the QR codes, when their phones are more familiar and easier to utilize.


QR codes in the archival processing and outreach realms could prove to be as beneficial to archives as QR codes are now to retail stores and real estate firms. In reality, archives should treat the use of archival materials like searching for a new house to purchase: there's a lot of research necessitated on a limited time allotment for the user, a lot of options, a lot of comparisons/contrasts needed between those options (and sources of information), lots of contacts and research routes to explore, and then the final walk-through of the available information before a final decision is made. House-hunting/archival research=highly-demanding needs for connections between resources to allow for the discovery the desired result (or house, in this case as well). While Internet security, network storage capacity/navigability, and consistency/continuity of QR code information and URLs are huge concerns in attempting to apply an institution-wide program tied to the institution's limited and valuable processing resources/abilities, there are similar concerns in digital archival preservation storage systems, digital archival repositories (such as OhioLink's EAD Finding Aid Repository: ead.ohiolink.edu/), and other networked systems that allow for e-discoverability and manipulation of information by a host institution. The great thing about QR codes are that they expand outreach to users who do have smart phones while not alienating those who don't (those users can rely on the standard archival systems non-reliant on smart phones). The question with QR codes come down to their long-term sustainability and technological support.