The Zombie Library: books reanimated via QR codes

Abstract

Purpose -This article aims to provide a comprehensive step by step plan on creating a Zombie Library, a physical collection of e-books through the use of QR codes. Drawing on the collective authors' experience working with the QR codes creation, this article aims to help librarians interested in promoting e-book collections and creating QR-coded Zombie books in their libraries. Design/methodology/approach -A literature review was performed using library databases, as well as consulting various online library subject guides on the use of QR codes in libraries. Between November 2011 and October 2012 Idaho State University (ISU) library executed a plan for creating QR codes for a Gale Virtual Reference Library e-book collection. Findings -The study found an increased usage of the e-book collection. The actual physical production of the items was more time-consuming than originally expected. The Zombie Library project received a lot of support and enthusiasm from the campus community. Plans are being made to expand this project to other e-book collections and other physical media (posters, bookmarks, etc.). This article combines promoting e-book collections with physical representations of the e-book via QR codes. Originality/value -This article is an inclusive step by step plan for promoting e-book collections using QR codes.

Use of QR Codes to Promote E-Books in Medical Libraries

“…Surprisingly, interviews of 25 academic librarians showed that none had a formalized marketing strategy for e-book promotion, although 19 noted that it is needed. 4 Some ideas to promote the collection include prominent links from the library's home page, inclusion of e-book titles in the library's catalog, full text search available via a federated search engine, faculty members alerting students, instructional sessions, creation of posters, and placement of dummy print books on the shelf to highlight online availability of a newer version.…”

“…Idaho State University libraries created a ''Zombie Library'' by labeling book dummies with the title, call number, and a QR code linking to books included in the Gale Virtual Reference library, as these e-books had stable URLs for individual titles and an unlimited user license. 19 Finally, Bournemouth University included QR codes in their print collection in call number ranges where students would most likely be looking for print books, as determined by reviewing reading lists. The codes link to a pre-generated search in the online catalog for e-books on a subject area.…”

Browsing the Intangible: Does Visibility Lead to Increased Use?

“…The Zombie Library project at Idaho State University comes closest to directly incorporating the digital collection into the physical stacks by creating dummy books with covers, titles, call numbers, QR codes, and bibliographic information. While they experienced little use during the study period, only the reference collection was included and summaries or table of contents were not placed on the dummies (Semenza, Koury, & Gray, 2013).…”