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Abstract
Quick Response (QR) codes are relatively new in the UK, although they have been used very successfully in Japan. Two examples of the use of QR codes for commercial product promotion are outlined, one successful, the other a failure.
Against this background, this article considers the increasing need for academic libraries to promote their services and resources to a “mobile clientele.” It reports on two case studies of UK academic libraries that use QR codes to promote library resources. It also gives an account of a pilot exercise at Loughborough University Library where QR codes were briefly tested.
The research found that, although awareness and use of QR codes in the UK was increasing and that certain types of QR codes, when used in academic libraries, were more successful than others, none of them were as successful as anticipated. Other new and more sophisticated technology was being developed which suggested that QR codes might simply be a bridging technology.