[Web4lib] LITA Mobile Computing Interest Group Meeting at ALA Midwinter 2011

[Bohyun Kim]

**Please excuse the cross-posting**

LITA Mobile Computing Interest Group Meeting at ALA Midwinter 2011

When: Sun. Jan 9 1:30pm – 3:30pm (Pacific Time)

Where: SDCC 31a

Come and join us for the exciting, lively, and informal discussion
about libraries and mobile devices at the 2011 ALA Midwinter Meeting
in San Diego! In addition to covering the following presentations and
discussion topics, we will also discuss what everyone is working on
and other topics brought for discussion.

Presentations and Discussion Topics

"A rapid ethnographic study of the iPad on a campus bus" - Jim Hahn
(University of Illinois)

: This short presentation will describe the results of a rapid
ethnographic study of 10 students using an iPad on a campus bus.
Presentation will include fail-points to use as well as unexpected
use. Discussion of frequently searched for terms as well as the
significance of user context will be included. Tentative ideas for
apps to develop as a result of student search data will be discussed.

"Putting the fun back in mobile websites:  launching an OS book
recommender" - Evviva Weinraub & Hannah Rempel (Oregon State
University)

: Building on the success of our mobile site, including a fully mobile
catalog, and our well received historical walking tour, Beaver Tracks,
OSU Libraries Mobile Team went looking for a fun project to work on.
Recognizing that many students (not to mention faculty, staff and our
own librarians) often want diversionary reading, we began working on
an open source mobile book recommender tool. We will describe how we
selected the content to include in our book recommender database, some
details of how the book recommender tool was built, the process of
choosing a design, and a demonstration of the features of the book
recommender tool.  Our planned go live date is January 7, 2011.

"Creating a mobile site with zero budget" - Tiffani Travis (California
State University)

: Is there a simple way to connect users to vital library info and
links to mobile versions of products other than creating a full-blown
mobile website? This presentation will share the experience of quickly
creating a "free" mobile site using LibGuides and WordPress, both of
which auto-format their sites for smart phones.

"Brainstorming ideas about great library-centric apps"

: This will be a brainstorming session for library-centric mobile apps
that go beyond searching the catalog or looking up building hours. How
can we leverage the existence of the mobile platform to provide a
truly transformative experience of the library?  Your input may be
used to inform suggested development tasks for the competition and
overall guidelines to the "Apps for Libraries" development competition
planned by Tod Colegrove (University of Nevada, Reno).

"Mobile usability and assessment"

: Has anyone done or is anyone planning to do a usability study or
assessments and also the accessibility (for people with disabilities)
for a library’s mobile website or apps? We will discuss also how we
can measure success in regard to the mobile web (e.g. feedback,
environmental scanning, survey, etc.).


Bohyun
LITA Mobile Computing IG chair



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Bohyun Kim, MA, MSLIS
Digital Access Librarian
bohyun.kim at fiu.edu
Medical Library, College of Medicine
Florida International University