Libraries Using QR Codes to access voter register and support the Electoral process in Uganda

Abstract

Libraries promote several services including outreach and exhibitions but there is often lack of methods and techniques that target the intended audiences. There is a need for libraries to reach out to users through mobile devices with enhanced visualization techniques. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how QR codes can become a technique of reaching out to library users by supporting users to access open and public data particularly, open government data. Specific objectives were to describe the voters register as open or public information and to reveal how Makerere University Library used QR codes to access the voters register and support the electoral process in Uganda.

The paper discuses cases where the published open data is maintained by the library, and there is a possibility to assess the impact of mobile device services using altimetrics techniques that provide statistics showing URL downloads by particular device and timelines. This valuable information can be enhanced by visualisation techniques such as zooming in and out, bubbles, colours and shapes of the visual to create insights about the usage of the URL and prompt appropriate management decisions. The only challenge with open government data is that the URL used to generate the QR code is often unreliable and hence requires regular updating of the generated QR code.

The paper’s key message is to show that in order to reach out to users; libraries can use QR codes as an information delivery service to mobile device to access open data that is of importance to the users.