arlis experimenting with mobile technologies in libraries

Mlibs: Experimenting with mobile technologies in libraries

Jo Alcock @joeyanne

Why should you get serious about mobile web?

2011 even moreso!

What skills do m-librarians need?

• IT Skills

• Personal traits

• User focus

• Communication

• Collaboration

• Research and development

Kate Davis and Prof. Helen Partridge at #mlib11

What knowledge do m-librarians need?

• Different mobile devices

• Basics of using mobile software

• QR codes

• Location services

• Augmented reality

Mobile technologies in libraries

• Library content on mobile devices (books, articles)

• Library services from mobile devices (enquiries, statistics, collection management, circulation)

• Mobile specific content/services (location services, QR codes, augmented reality)

Library content on mobile devices

E-books, electronic articles, digitised materials...

Library services from mobile devices

Enquiry support, finding resources, circulation, collecting statistics, room booking...

SMS enquiries

State Library of Ohio

SMS tips

University of Huddersfield Library

Keele University Library (Bowker's Library Anywhere)

Mobile catalogue

Roving enquiries

University of Warwick Library

Mobile circulation

DC Public Library

Loaning mobile devices

Creekview High School Library

Collecting library statistics

University of Warwick Library

Collecting library statistics

North Carolina State Library

Other experiments

• Room booking by mobile (incorporating QR code outside room to check availability and book if free)

• Paperless online weeding (using iPad in the stacks to colour code stock as "dusty" and withdraw from catalogue if necessary)

Mobile specific content/services

QR codes, location services, augmented reality

London School of Economics Library

Charles Darwin University Library

The Wallace Center/Rochester Institute of Technology

Staffordshire University Library

University of Huddersfield Library

University of Bedfordshire Library

Delaware District County Library

Aberystwyth University Library

University of Bedfordshire Library (using ZBar)

EasyBib (reference management)

Oak Park Public Library

University of Warwick Library

University of Sheffield (campusM by oMbiel)

Miami University, Ohio

Great, but...

=

Some of this doesn't cost money!

• QR codes

• Location apps (e.g. Foursquare, SCVNGR)

• Barcode scanning apps

• Open source software

• Some mobile OPACs*

• Refworks/EBSCO*

*free with existing subscriptions

What do we need to do?

Charles Darwin University Library

What do users want?

Mobile infrastructure for libraries programme

Where do we go from here?

JISC m-library support project

• Evidence gathering

• Gathering existing resources and collecting new case studies to share

• Community building

• Facilitating communication and encouraging sharing of good practice

Support project blog

http://m-libraries.info

Useful resources

#mlibs

Please add resources using the mlibs tag

Points to take away• Be flexible and adaptable to

users' needs

• Reduce duplication of effort by sharing resources and information

• Utilise free resources

• Animoto (video creation)

• bit.ly (URL shortener with statistics)

• ZBar (barcode reader)

• Kaywa (QR code generator)

ContactJo Alcock

@joeyanne

jo.alcock@bcu.ac.uk

http://m-libraries.info

http://bit.ly/mlibsproject