Top Ten List: Number Three

From the Library Technology Conference, in reverse chronological order:

3. Go Mobile with Your Library Website, Meghan Weeks, Loyola Marymount University

• Why go mobile? Many reports indicate the increase in the use of mobile technologies is on the rise and here to stay (the presenter noted studies by the Pew Research Center, Horizon Report 2011, and the Educause Center for Applied Research (ECAR) Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, 2010). Mobile technologies are increasingly becoming a student's first choice.
• Things to consider: Is your library website ready? What do your users want? Surveys may be an effective way to determine which features you need to include in your mobile website, though the speaker did not mention focus groups (which could be quite helpful, as was the case of the Kent State library).
• Features to consider:
  
  • Direct link to call
  • Link to text message ("Ask Me" instant messaging)
  • A customizable mobile environment--What are the tools/resources each individual patron uses most frequently? Can they add that to their customized mobile library page?
  • LibGuides mobile interface
  • Ebsco and other mobile databases
  • The ability to reserve spaces (i.e. group study rooms, computers with specialized software, scanners, etc.)
  • Perhaps a library QR code tour or podcast
  • Encourage interaction with the library's social media presence
  • Easy access to e-books, streaming videos/music on demand
• Programming considerations from the library's end:
  
  • Are you willing to write native apps (specific to each type of device: Android, Blackberry, iPhone)? The benefits of this are that it is easier for users to navigate, faster than mobile web, and the app can capitalize on device features (i.e. GPS). Having an internet connection may or may not be necessary (bandwidth), and the apps are usually written in Objective-C or Java. Updates do need to be installed, and the program does need to be marketed in app stores (which means it is up to users to download).
  • Would you rather scale down your website to be accessed using a smaller browser, taking a mobile web approach? Things to keep in mind when using this approach are that the page needs to be optimized for use on a smaller, mobile device. Also, there is the need to connect to the server. Usability tends to be lower because of the many steps it takes to navigate the links and time it may take to connect via a server. Programming is typically HTML, with CSS and Java. While mobile web sites tend to be designed with simplicity in mind, they are not targeted at one specific platform, making the user experience less customizable. The benefits include the ease with which such websites are created and maintained, and that the user does not need to install updates as they might with apps.
  • The hybrid approach (combining apps and mobile web) may work best for some libraries. The app is installed on the mobile device, is platform specific, and can utilize device features, but some of the areas accessed may be mobile web. Some features may need to be periodically updated (app) but some will be instant (and require network access).
• Names to know when it comes to integrating a mobile version of your website into your offerings:
  
  • MOPAC: Mobile OPAC is a customized catalog for mobile devices. AirPAC, by Innovative Interfaces, is one example. Another is the Mobile PAC by Polaris Library Systems.
  • BookMyne from Sirsi Dynix offers library users with iPhones the ability to scan bar codes (to see if the item in the store or at a friend's house is available via the library), social recommendations powered by Goodreads, the ability to cross-reference books in the library with the New York Times best sellers, and the ability to view their account information (i.e. fines, fees, current holds, checked out items). Libraries running SirsiDynix Symphony 3.3, Horizon 7.5 or higher may use BookMyne.
  • Discovery services include: Primo by Ex Libris, Serials Solutions Summon, and EBSCOhost Mobile.
  • Third party vendors include Blackboard Mobile Central (an app with a library portion to it, very limited, just one page of information and no access to user library account information), Boopsie for libraries (users can log in, place holds, renew items, and the app utilizes phone model features), Library Anywhere (by Library Thing), and Mobile Bridge (by Quipu Group).
  • Open Source options include the Washington D.C. Public Library iPhone app, Molly (the opens source mobile portal from Oxford University), or librarians may develop their own apps.
• Usability considerations: Just as we consider those with disabilities in designing standard HTML websites, we must also do so with mobile pages. Issues with typing, viewing, etc. occur. The W3C has released their Mobile Web Best Practices 1.0; their aim "is to improve the user experience of the Web when accessed from such [mobile] devices." Other testing tools include EvalAccess 2.0, and Mobi Ready.
• Analytic tools: chartbeat, Clicky, Google Analytics for mobile, Piwik, and Sitemeter.
  
• App development tools: Appcelerator, Mother App, Netbiscuits, PhoneGap, and Rhomobile.


• Mobile helper utilities: Skweezer.com, Mobile Site Generator, iWebkit, Google App Engine, and JQTouch.