LibConf.com from Information Today

If you plan to blog from Computers in Libraries 2011 this March please tell us.  We have an easy signup form online so you can let us know…

During Computers in Libraries 2010 we used QR Codes as an easy way for attendees to grab the URL’s for the many bloggers at the conference. For some folks, this use of the two dimensional encoding squares was old hat, and for others it was their first time seeing this 16 year old technology in action.

After years of use in Asia, QR Codes use is increasing in the US as a direct result of widespread adoption of smart phones with bar code scanning capabilities like Android powered phones and the Apple iPhone. The simple codes we used are just the beginning of what QR Code technology can express. The code on the right provides a link to the website of one of the Bloggers@CIL2010 – if you don’t have a phone with a barcode scanner, you can use one of the free online decoders like this one from ZXing.

Mark Sprague has written a very comprehensive post outlining QR technology and its many extensions and uses. Some of the designer codes he showcases are very cool. There are even QR codes with embedded graphics or company logos. I’d like to also thank Paula Hane, one of the LibConf bloggers and News Bureau Chief at Information Today, Inc. for featuring Mark’s post on Facebook since that is where I first saw it.

Read it at Understanding QR Codes.

You can now easily bookmark, visit, or share the websites belonging simply by visiting the Bloggers@CIL2010 page and clicking the Get QR Code.  If you do not yet have a QR Code reader for your mobile device, check out the zxing Get The Reader page.  They released the free (and aptly named) Barcode Scanner for most Android devices as well providing the popular Barcodes product in the the iTunes App Store.

And if you don’t have a mobile device with barcode scanning capabilities you can still play with the technology using the ZXing Online Decoder where you can upload a barcode image or just paste in the URL of the item you want to decode.

Read more…

Got an Android or an iPhone?  Scan the QR Code for the Hyatt Regency Crystal City to get the geocoded location for use in your navigation tools.
If you don’t have a QR reader yet, check out the zxing Get The Reader page.