[Web4lib] M-Libraries: Information Use On The Move: A Report From The Arcadia Programme

[McKiernan, Gerard [LIB]]

Colleagues/

 

A Major/Major New Report: 

 

M-Libraries: Information Use On The Move: A Report From The Arcadia
Programme / Keren Mills [Cambridge, UK: Arcadia Programme, Cambridge
University] 28/05/2009. 14 pp. 

 

/Gerry 

 

Executive Summary

 

Developing m-library services is usually expensive and resource
intensive, requiring expertise that existing library staff may not have.
Before committing funding and staff time to such projects, it is
important to try and ensure, as far as possible, that such investments
are targeted at meeting actual needs, and are adding value to existing
library services.

 

 

The Information Use on the Move project was undertaken in that spirit -
to scope the information requirements of academic library users on the
move in order to inform future development of library services to mobile
devices. The aim was to identify trends in the way people currently
interact with information using their mobile phones, and then
extrapolate ways that libraries could support those mobile information
needs.

 

People are currently more positive about accessing information via SMS
than via the mobile internet, although iPhones and iPhone-like
smartphones may change that. The cost of mobile internet browsing has
dropped considerably in the past year, and is likely to drop further
under pressure from consumer watchdogs. 

 

[snip]

 

* Piloting text alerting services - giving users the opportunity to
choose whether they want notifications by text message, email or both
are likely to be taken up by at least a third of library users. These
alerts would include the notifications automatically generated by the
Library Management System (LMS).

 

* Piloting a text reference service - if the library receives a high
volume of enquiries that require brief responses, such as dictionary
definitions, facts or service information from the library.

 

* Providing a mobile OPAC interface - perhaps using a service such as
AirPac or WorldCat Mobile, or working with their LMS supplier to develop
a mobile version of their OPAC.

 

* Allowing mobile phone use in the library - as long as they are set to
silent or to flight mode (meaning they are not receiving a signal).

 

[More]

 

Links To The Report FullText And More Available At 

 

[ http://tinyurl.com/kj46mv  ]

 

Enjoy!

 

/Gerry 

 

Gerry McKiernan

Associate Professor

Science and Technology Librarian

Iowa State University Library

Ames IA 50011

 

gerrymck at iastate.edu 

 

There Are No Answers, Only Solutions / Olde Irish Saying

 

The Future is Already Here; It's Just Not Evenly Distributed /
Attributed to William Gibson, SciFi Author; Coined 'Cyberspace'