Google is celebrating the 57th anniversary of the first barcode patent by (surprise!) replacing their logo:

Having played around with barcodes over the years, I got curious.  I printed out the page, plugged in my declawed CueCat, and scanned the barcode.  The result was both expected and surprising:  “gOOGLE”.

I haven’t been able to determine which barcode format is being used, and I have tested about 25 different formats.  Some sources are indicating that the format is Code 128, but I haven’t been able to replicate that even though I have tried several different barcode generators.

Why lead with the lowercase “g”?  Why have “OOGLE” in uppercase?  Why celebrate the 57th anniversary?  I am curious, but have not found any clues, nor has Google posted anything on either their official blog or the logos page.

I think barcode standards are under-appreciated in the library world.  They have done more to aid our handling of materials than anything short of computers, with which they are intertwined.  They serve as perhaps the best example of a standard that benefits all users, and I suspect they will be around in some form or another for quite a while.

Update:

Following some information found on TechCrunch led me to the Google zxing project.  Running the barcode09.gif file through their barcode recognition software generates “Google” with the format of CODE_128.  Within the Google sofware family, at least, the barcode works as I would expect.

If you are involved with the selection or ordering process, then you are very likely to be familiar with searching for items by the International Standard Book Number, or ISBN.  The newer, 13-digit ISBN is actually based on the European Article Number, or EAN, which makes books consistent with most international trade goods.  The EAN was developed as an expansion of the common Universal Product Code, or UPC.

Enough theory?  How about web sites that offer lookup services that can help you find booksellers, prices, and even reviews and summaries of the books you wish to acquire?

• BookFinder – This site returns a large number of booksellers (many, many used booksellers!), although it seems odd that it doesn’t display the book’s title.
• CheckUPC.com – A good summary, and a variety of printable bar codes make this a decent site for book information.
• ISBN.nu – This is one I have used for years, and is still the one I turn to when our primary vendors don’t have a book in stock.
• ISBNdb.com – With summaries, subjects, similar items, and physical details, this site is a great resource for information about books.
• OCLC’s xISBN service – This service returns a list of related ISBNs, other editions of the book whose ISBN you append to their base URL ( http://xisbn.worldcat.org/webservices/xid/isbn/ ), in XML format.  It isn’t pretty, but when you need it, it is very helpful.
• ThingISBN – Similar to xISBN, LibraryThing provides a service where you append your ISBN to the end of their base URL ( http://www.librarything.com/api/thingISBN/ ) and get a list of related ISBNs in XML format.
• UPC Database – This site returns a large number of booksellers of the group; it also lets you know that the UPC is associated with that fictional country that so many people enjoy visiting:  Bookland.
• Wikipedia’s Book Sources – If you want a service that can give you dozens (and dozens!) of places where you can “Find This Book”, then you need to try this one.

For comparison, here are links to results for the same book (Stephen King : The Dark Tower):

• BookFinder.com
• CheckUPC.com
• ISBN.nu
• ISBNdb.com
• OCLC’s xISBN service
• ThingISBN
• UPC Database
• Wikipedia’s Book Sources

Sources and further information:

• Bibliographic Wilderness (and again)
• Comparing xISBN and ThingISBN (FRBR Blog)
• Official Web Site of The Dark Tower (The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed….)