It is with a great deal of excitement that I offer at the bottom of this entry a database of 2D barcodes that describe all 60 Brooklyn Public Library locations and services.
A 2D barcode is an image that corresponds to a web address (the http://www.website.com is actually coded in the barcode image). Since each of the Brooklyn Public Library branches has a unique web address, I was able to use kaywa.com to generate barcodes for each of the branches web spaces.
How do you read this crazy looking barcode? With your cellphone of course. Many Nokia phones as well as the iPhone offer 2D barcode decoders. If your phone has a camera and is web-enabled you can probably do this, so don’t be intimidated. It is as easy as taking a picture! The decoder uses your phone’s camera to translate a picture of the barcode into the coded web address and then links you to that page on your mobile web browser.
I got interested in this idea after hearing that this technology is fully blown up in Japan and that CitySearch San Francisco has been using 2Dbarcodes to identify restaurants. Why not create stickers for library branches? Why not add these images to our print flyers, thus enriching an old-fashioned paper format with readily accessible web information? Update: check out this online zine promoting 2D barcode projects and all of the exciting possibilities.
Below you will find 4 different links for each of our Brooklyn Public Library buildings. I’ve presented the barcodes in 2 different formats, datamatrix and QR. The first two links are PNG image files that can be copied and pasted into Microsoft Word docs, Photoshop, or Illustrator. Just copy and paste the barcode and you add a web page and all that interactivity to your flyer! The second two links are to PDF files of label templates. Each sheet has 6 stickers, and can be printed on Avery matte white labels size 8254, available from Staples here. Stick information about your local library anywhere! In addition I’ve added a link to PDF files of “ex libris” bookplate stickers that offer a barcode image linking you to the Brooklyn Public Library homepage. That should keep you busy and make your books look cool.
In the future, with the success of the OpenLibrary project’s goal to give every book its own web page, 2D barcodes could prove useful in offering online information about any given book. The possibilities are endless. This, my friends, is our first easily accessible, consumer-driven attempt at linking the physical world to the digital world. Well, actually that’s debatable, but I’m pretty damn psyched about this particular step. PLEASE people, USE the barcodes I’ve generated and made easy for you to distribute and stick anywhere and everywhere appropriate for the dispersal of the encoded information. You can always generate your own stickers for any site at blank.com, but I’ve made it particularly easy for you to spread hype about your local library. You’ll note that these stickers still promote the library without a fancypants barcode reader: they still say the name of your local branch on them. Promote your library yourself! Go to town with it!
Download bookplates here.
Please report any errors you may find in the database below.
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Arlington
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Bay Ridge
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Bedford
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Borough Park
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Brighton Beach
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Brooklyn Heights
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Brower Park
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Brownsville
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Bushwick
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Business Library
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Canarsie
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Carroll Gardens
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Central Library
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Clarendon
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Clinton Hill
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Coney Island
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Cortelyou image
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Crown Heights
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Cypress Hills
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Dekalb
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Dyker
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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East Flatbush
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Eastern Parkway
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Flatbush
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Flatlands
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Fort Hamilton
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Gerritsen Beach
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Gravesend
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Greenpoint
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Highlawn
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Homecrest
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Jamaica Bay
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Kensington
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Kings Bay
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Kings Highway
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Leonard
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Macon
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Mapleton
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Marcy
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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McKinley Park
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Midwood
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Mill Basin
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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New Lots
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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New Utrecht
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Pacific
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Paerdegat
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Park Slope
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Red Hook
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Rugby
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Ryder
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Saratoga
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Sheepshead Bay
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Spring Creek
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Stone Avenue
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Sunset Park
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Ulmer Park
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Walt Whitman
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Washington Irving
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Williamsburgh
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Windsor Terrace
image for flyer (DM) image for flyer (QR) 6 stickers (DM) 6 stickers (QR)
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Catch and Release 
