The point of the article is to show how it's possible to create an Apple pass from a custom barcode.
Whether that barcode can then actually be read by a specific reader from a phone or not is arguably a different concern: Some readers support it; others don't. Obviously a passbook version of a paper barcode is useless for the latter.
Personally, I found the post valuable regardless of whether the barcode would actually end up working at the author's library or not; I have a few scenarios myself where I know screen-presented codes are accepted.
