Are any visually unobtrusive machine-readable labelling systems available?

Possible Duplicate:\ Alternatives to barcodes for book identification

Both barcodes and qr-codes have the problem of taking up visual space on the outside of the book.

Pro: The book readily identifies itself as a "library book" at casual glance, significantly improving the return rate. Contra: It's ugly, might cover other information, and sometimes there isn't enough or suitable space on the spine, and the information needs to go onto the front or back of the book, covering other information.

Some physical effects that could be used:

• polarization angles, showing their pattern if viewed through polarized lenses, but clear to the bare human eye.
• reflective/semi-reflective contrast might be more irritating to human eyes, and more prone to errors related to lighting.

Such a system could render the entire spine a barcode without blocking view of the title or the traditional tag, further narrowing the "minimum spine width" needed for identification.

Anything in use along these lines, or are there other downsides to it?

Tatjana Heuser

• rfid
• barcodes
• qr-codes

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