[Web4lib] L J > Summon and EBSCOhost To Debut New Mobile Interfaces

[McKiernan, Gerard [LIB]]

Colleagues/

 

I am greatly interested in learning of Any/All other current or planned
mobile access initiatives 

that offer / will offer access to databases / OPACs / e-collections /
etc.

 

Thanks !

 

/Gerry 

 

LJ > Summon and EBSCOhost To Debut New Mobile Interfaces 

 

Josh Hadro / Library Journal / 11-4-2009

 

[snip]

 

As if smartphones weren't already hard enough to put down, new,
mobile-optimized interfaces are coming for both Summon, Serials
Solutions' discovery platform, and a number of EBSCO resources.

 

The Summon mobile interface should provide students and researchers most
of the same features and options as the regular search interface,
including access to both local materials and electronic resources
available from the library. The mobile search site will debut today in
time for the opening of the Charleston Conference in Charleston, SC.

 

The mobile search option is an alternative interface, not a separate
downloadable app. [snip]

 

Others offering access to library content are also gearing up for mobile
access. EBSCO will soon release EBSCOhost Mobile; ... , "the interface
will include many features for an enhanced mobile experience, is
optimized for internet-enabled handheld devices, and qualified for all
the major SmartPhones ... ."

 

After Mobile, The Flood

 

So, will researchers incorporate this into regular use, or only when
other tools are not available to them?

 

Gerry McKiernan, mobile device trend-watcher, science and technology
subject librarian, and associate professor at Iowa State University,
said that it may take a little while for these services to be fully
embraced, but that their day will inevitably come.

 

"At this point [mobile-specific searches] are supplemental, or impulse,
such that if you're on the road and you want to search a particular
resource ... you could do that," he said. But, he added, 

 

"The mobile phone is becoming an all-in-one tool for a variety of
functions," and as that happens, users will come to expect some kind of
mobile interface to the tools they're grown accustomed to using.

 

McKiernan also said a number of Pew Internet reports and dispatches
indicating the inexorable march of progress on the mobile front can't be
ignored by content providers and other vendors. 

 

Pew Internet Report: Wireless Internet Use 

 

 

The World In 2020: The Mobile Device Will Be The Primary Connection Tool
To The Internet

 

Currently, handheld library service is represented by a patchwork of
mobile-enabled OPACs, streamlined library site stylesheets, and
text-message services ... .

 

A frequent complaint is that these services often draw users in ... only
to lead them to other site subsections or resources that are unwieldy on
a smaller screen, or entirely unusable. As more content providers
embrace the mobile medium, however, libraries will be better able to
offer both smartphone users and traditional users an equal level of
service.

 

Links To The Article Full Text And Noted Services And Reports Available
At 

 

[ http://tinyurl.com/y9oulq5  ] 

 

NB: If You Are Aware Of Similar Mobile Initiatives Please Note As A
Comment On The Posting]

 

Thanks For Your Assistance!

 

Regards,

 

/Gerry 

 

Gerry McKiernan

Associate Professor

Science and Technology Librarian

Iowa State University Library

Ames IA 50011

 

 

gerrymck at iastate.edu

 

 

There Is No Answer, Only Solutions / Olde Irish Saying

 

The Future Is Already Here, It's Just Not Evenly Distributed

Attributed To William Gibson, SciFi Author / Coined 'Cyberspace