Library Web Apps and Mobile Apps

[William Helman]

I have to agree with Leo's sentiment.  Native apps are great, but should
only be used to provide extra features that require use of the phone's
specialized components (gps, accelerometer, etc.).  I really believe that
you should build your core functionality on the mobile web, and then move
it into a native app as needed.  This is the core of Facebook's "write once
build run everywhere<http://www.readwriteweb.com/mobile/2011/09/how-facebook-mobile-was-design.php>"
approach, which has been pretty successful.

And, as he pointed out, that doesn't have to be subpar.  With html5, css3
and Javascript you can get some pretty amazing web based applications.  I'm
writing this on Gmail, which acts much more like a stand alone email client
than a "a simple web page."

For what it's worth I touched on some of this in a panel I was on last
week<http://www.slideshare.net/whelman/langsdale-mobile-a-user-centered-approach>for
the Society for Scholarly Publishing Fall Seminar on mobile app
development.  If you're interested take a look at the speaker's notes, I've
included a pretty detailed transcript.

   -Bill

On Mon, Nov 14, 2011 at 3:19 PM, Leo Robert Klein <leo at leoklein.com> wrote:

> Well, I can absolutely see the need to make our content
> 'mobile-friendly'*.  I just don't see how 'mobile-friendly' translates into
> obliging people to download a site-specific 'app' just to access the
> content.
>
> That's where I'm wondering what the traffic and usage is.  I mean, if I
> had it my way, we'd simply send someone a bookmark and call it an 'app'.
>
> LEO
>
> _____________
> * Using such 'built-in' tools as HTML5, CSS3, Javascript, etc.
>
> -- -------------------
> www.leoklein.com (site)
> www.ChicagoLibrarian.com (blog)
>
> aim/msn/yhoo/goog: 'leorobertklein'
> -- ------------------------------**-
>
>
>
> On 11/14/2011 1:36 PM, Louise Alcorn wrote:
>
>> I would add to Thomas’s comment that our integrated library systems
>> (ILS) may or may not be providing these mobile (as in phone/mobile
>> device) app-based interfaces to our library catalogs, databases and
>> more, so many of us are looking at options to make an “older” ILS or
>> other offerings more mobile-friendly and (perhaps more to the point)
>> more integrated with each other. If we don’t, the research (Pew, etc.)
>> shows, we’ll lose the under-30 crowd entirely pretty soon. Heck, we’ll
>> lose the over-30 crowd, too. Our patrons, esp. busy parents, want to do
>> everything with their phone on their own schedule.
>>
>> My 2 cents.
>>
>
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> 2011-11-14
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-- 
   -Bill

Integrated Digital Services Librarian
Langsdale Library, University of Baltimore
whelman at ubalt.edu - ph. 410 837 4209

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