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Trevor, love that idea, thanks!

Kathie Gow

Oral History Producer

http://www.wordspicturesstories.com

Curator, Hatfield Historical Museum

http://hatfieldhistory.weebly.com

From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of REYNOLDS, Trevor
Sent: Thursday, September 19, 2013 5:23 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] QR codes in exhibits

One option for visitors without smart phones is to have a page on your website where the pages that your QR codes link to are easily browsable. Then you can put on an introductory panel something like:

"The QR codes in this exhibition will take you to more information about the exhibits. If you don't have a smart phone and want to look at the information after your visit go to www.our_museum.org/this_exhibition/QR/ "

Trevor Reynolds

Collections Registrar, English Heritage

tel: +44 (0) 1904 601905. 37 Tanner Row, York, YO1 6WP

From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Kathie Gow
Sent: 19 September 2013 01:30
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: QR codes in exhibits

Jake and Lissa, I thought of that also – I don’t want to cut anyone out because they don’t want to or can’t pay the monthly Internet connection charges (that’s why I haven’t gotten a smart phone yet) – but I think adding a URL will make an already busy space (QR code, regular label or labels, artifact, and a museum full of items to begin with) so busy that visitors just move away, or keep on walking. We haven’t done this yet, but our plan is to buy or fundraise a tablet (approx. $150?) that visitors w/o smart devices can use to walk through the museum so they can access the QR codes. We have the advantage, though (cough, cough) of having a very small museum and one entrance point, so it will be relatively easy to keep an eye on the tablet. If you have a big museum and lots of visitors, of course you’d want more and then have some security issues to figure out.

I am a QR code novice, but with help from our museum’s volunteer tech advisor (my husband), we have added our first few QR codes to an otherwise old-fashioned local historical museum. If you are also a novice, or considering doing this for your museum but are not sure how, I wrote a blog post that tells you how to do it (and the 2^nd link tells about using SoundCloud to host your audio clips for free).

http://hatfieldhistory.weebly.com/1/post/2013/07/ever-use-a-qr-code.html

http://hatfieldhistory.weebly.com/1/post/2013/07/got-audio-stories.html

So far I’ve only gotten staff, volunteers and the library folks from downstairs to try the QR codes and listen to them, so I don’t have feedback from real visitors yet. It’s going to be a sales job to let people know they’re here. Does anyone have suggestions for getting people buzzed about checking them out?

--Kathie

Kathie Gow

Oral History Producer

http://www.wordspicturesstories.com

Curator, Hatfield Historical Museum

http://hatfieldhistory.weebly.com

From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Jacob Hildebrandt
Sent: Wednesday, September 18, 2013 3:23 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] QR codes in exhibits

One thing I would lobby for is the inclusion of a human-readable URL included. Just like barcodes have the number printed below, I think QR codes should have their info printed in text close by for those without camera-bearing smartphones. URL shorteners like TinyURL and Bitly are great for this, giving the lower-tech visitor something to jot down and look at later (or even on-site, as many tablets and such don't have rear cameras). Like QR codes, they can also be used for tracking usage which is neat.

--Jake Hildebrandt

On Wed, Sep 18, 2013 at 12:37 PM, FM Jacinto <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

I've experience QR code usage as a visitor. I thought it was extremely effective, linking me to additional photographs and anecdotes. It was well situated - in an area where benches already existed, preventing a log jam in the flow. It's a great method to link to video - at both an equipment and design/maintenance cost savings.

FrannMarie Jacinto

On Sep 18, 2013, at 11:45 AM, Leary, Patrick wrote:

> We're thinking of experimenting with QR codes next to labels on a new exhibit we're planning, so that we can share longer stories. We've never done this before. Does anybody have any advice about what worked well and what didn't when you've used these?
>
> Many thanks,
>
> Patrick Leary
> [log in to unmask]

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