Moose Jaw, Canada is among the latest examples of this use for quick response barcodes.
In a recent Heritage Advisory Committee meeting for the city of Moose Jaw in Canada, the attendees viewed a presentation introducing QR code plaques as a way to share the city’s history with residents and visitors.
The appeal includes consumer familiarity with the technology and affordability of implementation
The presentation was given by Jessica McNaughton, a local business owner of memoryKPR, which provides businesses and individuals alike with the opportunity to store, save, and protect stories and information they feel are useful, relevant, and worth sharing. Her presentation illustrated how the technology and QR code displays could be used by the city to share its own information and stories.
The Heritage Advisory Committee put forward a motion to consider a program using the barcodes through the services available at memoryKPR.
The committee is considering the use of QR code plaques installed the city’s heritage sites
When residents or visitors come across the barcodes, they will be able to use their phones to scan them – just as they would with any other QR code. Scanning will automatically send the user to the city’s official website on a page where more information will be available about the heritage site in question.
“The Heritage Advisory Committee has been working for well over a year on collating history via videos and information and archives to have it placed on our city’s website with additional information for all of the plaques that you see around the city,” said Crystal Forese, a city councilor who also sits on the Heritage Advisory Committee.
The initial motion the Heritage Advisory Committee put forward to the city council involved the project’s initial funding.
While it was broadly agreed that the barcodes were an interesting and practical way to share the city’s heritage information, there were some concerns voiced by city councilors.
For instance, Councilor Dawn Luhning brought up the topic of the long-term cost of the project, beyond its initial implementation.
According to Forese, should the pilot project continue beyond one year, any maintenance costs to keep it up would be minimal.
“She (McNaughton) actually quoted us $500 for this pilot project to try it for a year, and that is why the Heritage Advisory Committee wanted to recommend that they would fund it as a pilot project for the first year,” explained Forese.
The city council has invited a memory KKPR representative to attend the next council meeting in order to further discuss the QR code project.