Resources for Mobile Devices - Recap of SLA/DC Presentation

Context, Content, Contraptions – Resources for Mobile Devices

Paulette M. Hasier, PhD, Manager Research Services, Advanced Resource Technologies, Inc.

Last week the DC/SLA Chapter organized a great presentation on how the Research Services team worked with their IT folks to test, acquire and make available a variety of information resources on company-issued mobile devices.

The key is Context, Content and Contraptions:

Context:

Patrons want things to be simple:

• Easy search
• Single device
• One-stop shop

Patrons want services on better technologies using multiple devices in the workplace.

Content:

Public libraries are overwhelmed with demand – there are waiting lists for the ebook versions of latest best sellers. Corporate libraries are seeing increased demand for ebooks.

Contraptions:

The number of ebook readers doubled over the recent holiday season – 29% of adults now have some kind of e-reader and that number will only increase. At the end of 2011 smartphone sales surpassed PC sales.

Pitfalls & Solutions for adopting new technologies:

Goals:

• Make subscription resources mobile.
• Make news updates dynamic
• Maintain integrity of scientific data

Why is mobility important? Our patrons travel a lot for work – business trips, offsite meetings, testimony.

Rather than guess what the patrons needed – they conducted end-user interviews – not just surveys. They learned that their patrons wanted resources for the smartphone or a tablet – not laptops and not blackberrys.

Pitfall – Product primacy. Right now Apple rules the market so people are requesting those products – but will all the resources run on Apple products? One company got a top-down order for resources for the iPad with no prior discussion or consideration of what content was available for the device.

Other challenges:

• WiFi vs. 3G service – building wasn’t configured for WiFi – so 3G is the solution.
• authentication method – IP doesn’t work on mobile devices so in the end they went with username and password. Company IT is still working on some kind of pass-through connection that is seamless like IP authentication.
• Monitoring agency-specific news RSS feeds not working for mobile – solution – using social media to bridge the need for the short term.

Some lessons learned:

Don’t assume you know/understand what the users’ needs are.

Patrons want things to be simple – but they want the content that they want/need.

Science staff doesn’t want humanities content.

Patrons were happiest with an A-to-Z list of journals they could select from.

There was an expectation of more content being available – so provide information about what is and is not available.

If you are tied to a product, i.e. iPhone or iPad, aim to use applications and resources that are optimized for those products.

Dr. Hasier and her staff will give the following presentations:

Better Websites: Agile, Teens & Duct Tape! Computers in Libraries, Washington, D.C. - March 22, 2012

Impact of Technical Standards on Vocabulary & Metadata Projects - SLA Annual, Chicago - July 18, 2012

Gov on the Go: Mobile Apps - SLA Annual, Chicago - July 18, 2012