NJIT Mobile Project Final Report 20120815

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NJIT Mobile Project Final Report

August 2012

Ann HoangKate Wiggins

Robert W. Van Houten Library

New Jersey Institute of Technology


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NJIT Library Mobile Project Final Report Page 2

Table of Contents

Background ..................................................................................................................................... 3

Approach ......................................................................................................................................... 3

Budget and Staff ............................................................................................................................. 4

Budget ......................................................................................................................................... 4

A. LibraryLinkNJ Subsidy Contribution ........................................................................... 4

B. Local (NJIT) Funding Contribution ............................................................................. 4

C. Total Cost for the Mobile-On-The-Go Project ............................................................. 4

Staff ............................................................................................................................................. 5

Implementation Timeline ................................................................................................................ 5

Mobile Library Services ............................................................................................................. 6

Accessing NJIT Library Mobile Website ................................................................................... 6

Marketing and Public Relations ...................................................................................................... 6

Evaluation ....................................................................................................................................... 7

Outcome Objectives .................................................................................................................... 7

Objectives Rubric........................................................................................................................ 7

Outcome Evaluation Measurement ............................................................................................. 8

Usage Statistics ........................................................................................................................... 8

Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 10

Quote ......................................................................................................................................... 12

References ..................................................................................................................................... 12

Appendix A Marketing Example ............................................................................................... 14

Appendix B Testing Log ............................................................................................................ 15


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Background

In March 2012, LibraryLinkNJ funded the LibraryLinkNJ Pilot Project FY2012: New Jersey

Libraries-On-The-Go project. The pilot project timeline was from March 2012 to August 2012.The aim of the project was to ensure that member libraries have a mobile presence useful to,and used by, their customers. The objectives were:

To provide a selection of mobile options for multi-type libraries;

To assist libraries in deciding which option best suits their mobile strategy goals andneeds;

To facilitate implementing mobile services across the state quickly; and ,

To subsidize selected libraries implementation, marketing and/or evaluation costs 1.

LibraryLinkNJ awarded 23 contracts, with NJIT as a recipient of the subsidized request in theamount of $5,000, to create and implement a mobile website for the Robert W. Van Houten

Library. This report summarizes NJITs implementation of LibraryAnywhere software for alibrary mobile website.

Approach

The mission of the Robert W. Van Houten Library at the New Jersey Institute of Technology(NJIT) is to satisfy the NJIT communitys scholarly information needs in a timely fashion;increase productivity and effectiveness through customization and personalization of services;and increase scholarly access to NJITs digital resources in pursuit of their educational andresearch programs in a cost-effective, timely manner, and provide a high-quality academic

learning environment

2

. NJIT strives to continuously anticipate and meet the information needs ofour community in our collective search for knowledge. We will do this anytime and anyplace.We will use our staff and our technology, resources and services in creating a modelinformation-literate community.

By 2015, US mobile internet users are expected to surpass desktop internet users3. With mobiledevices, smartphones and tablets becoming increasingly popular, it is imperative for NJIT libraryto provide a much greater user experience for our students, faculty and staff no matter whatmobile device they are using. Now is the time to develop a responsive, mobile-friendly website.This mobile version of key resources and services:

Leverages emerging virtual discovery tools to provide alternate paths to serendipitous

discovery; Provides users with more effective, efficient, and higher-quality, and access to the

librarys catalog and select databases through the use of new technologies;

Provides seamless access to library services, including interlibrary loan and virtualreference;

Improves users satisfaction with library services.


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LibraryAnywhere software provides both mobile web access for any mobile device as well asnative apps for use on mobile devices including iPhone, iPad, Android, Blackberry and universaldevices.

LibraryAnywhere has the features and functionalities NJIT students, faculty and staff desire,

including: The ability to search the catalog, check book availability, place holds, renew items, and

review fines while on-the-go;

Full compliance with Section 508 and other accessibility standards;

Seamless access to a range of our key electronic databases and e-books;

Seamless access to library hours and services, such as contacting subject liaison librariansfor further assistance;

A barcode scanner that reads QR codes or ISBNs to quickly check if a book is availableat the NJIT libraries or other libraries nearby.

LibraryAnywhere has the features and functionalities our library staff is looking for to administer

the project: Easy set-up, no installation or uploads, and minimum maintenance;

New items are added to the LibraryAnywhere mobile site immediately upon entry intoNJITs catalog;

QR codes in the NJIT librarys website will link to the mobile version of the website (inaddition to the automatic redirect);

Comprehensive statistics track usage, peak traffic times, devices used and more.

By leveraging one of many emerging virtual discovery tools (i.e. LibraryAnywhere software) toprovide alternate paths to serendipitous discovery for students, faculty and staff, the Van HoutenLibrary will have successfully anticipated and met the information needs of our NJIT community

in the continuous search for knowledge. We will do this anytime and anyplace as we worktoward redefining NJITs academic library by managing the migration and transition fromtraditional to digital library services.

Budget and Staff

Budget

A. LibraryLinkNJ Subsidy Contribution $5,000.00

LibraryAnywhere software $2,000.00

Funds to purchase equipment for development $1,500.00 Salary for student assistant $1,500.00

B. Local (NJIT) Funding Contribution $2,650.00

Projected salary for Ann Hoang $1,000.00

Projected salary for Kate Wiggins $1,650.00

C. Total Cost for the Mobile-On-The-Go Project $7,650.00


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Staff

The project team consisted of two permanent staff - the Assistant University Librarian and aTechnical Reference Librarian - with additional support from a student assistant to work on theNJIT mobile website project. Both staff members have managerial and technological expertise to

successfully implement a responsive, mobile-friendly and mobile-optimized library website. Thescheduled project timeline ran from March 15 to August, 2012 with the final report due toLibraryLinkNJ on August 15, 2012. The total hours spent on the project during the projecttimeline were as follow:

Ann Hoang 16 hours

Kate Wiggins 48 hours

Student Assistant 150 hours

Total hours spent on project 214 hours

Implementation Timeline

Date Activities Completion

Feb 2012

To

March 2012

Research best possible methodology to develop an NJITlibrary mobile website and complete an environmentalscan of existing academic mobile websites

Create a detailed project management timeline to properlyschedule work and utilize resources for creation of theNJIT library mobile website

Begin development of the NJIT library mobile websiteusing LibraryAnywhere software

Mar 2012

Apr 2012

toMay 2012

Continue development of the NJIT library mobile website

using LibraryAnywhere software Use iPads to test drive (e.g. functionality, usability, and

flexibility of) the NJIT library mobile website

May 2012

Jun 2012

to

August 2012

Deploy the NJIT library mobile website to all students,faculty and staff

Evaluate effectiveness of the NJIT library mobile websiteproject (e.g. measure the outcome objectives)

Use iPads to conduct one-on-one interviews with students,faculty and staff to measure outcome objectives

Analyze data from outcome objectives measurement andproduce draft of NJIT mobile website project final report

Jun 2012

to

Present

Aug 2012 Submit NJIT mobile website project report toLibraryLinkNJ

Aug 2012

Sep 2012

and

future

Continued and enhanced marketing and promotion ofNJIT library mobile offerings

Update mobile site as needed to respond to the ever-growing and eternally-evolving mobile needs of the NJITcommunity

n/a


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Mobile Library Services

In April 2012, the project team started to develop the NJIT library mobile website usingLibraryAnywhere software. The site was completed and deployed to students, faculty and staff inMay 2012. With careful planning, it took us a bit of time to finally determine that it was best to

develop a separate page for both the main and branch libraries.

Accessing NJIT Library Mobile Website

Main URL: http://www.libanywhere.com/m/673

Universal URL: http://www.libanywhere.com/la/673

Scan QR code to with smartphone to access mobile website

Android app from Google Play http://play.google.com/store

Apple app from iTunes store http://www.itunes.com/appstore/

Search for LibraryAnywhere app

Marketing and Public Relations

The project team promoted the NJIT library mobile website project in an organized, timelymanner while fulfilling the mission of the library. Promotional activities included:

Creating publicity in the form of print flyers and posters, and posted announcements onthe librarys blog, library research guides, and webpages [see Appendix A];

Utilizing social networking tools such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google+;

Contacting faculty through their respective library subject liaison;

Speaking directly with students, faculty and staff;

Taking advantage of all opportunities to promote the NJIT library mobile website,including interactions at the reference desk, circulation desk, and classroom instruction.

Promotional efforts will continue and will be escalated with the beginning of the fall semester.As part of information literacy instruction, students will learn how to best access libraryresources remotely through the use of the mobile app. We are currently exploring the level ofinterest in offering an information literacy to-go session, encouraging students to do researchwhenever and wherever they may need to, which we expect will well-exceed the number ofiPads we currently have available. As such, students who own tablet computers and/or iPads willbe encouraged to bring these devices to their library and information literacy instruction sessions.Librarians will also continue to utilize the Van Houten Librarys presence in social media to


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continue to reach students that we will not have the ability to meet with face-to-face. Signage(with QR codes pointing to the mobile site) will be placed in highly-visible, high-traffic areaswithin the library as well as in the Campus Center. Bookmarks advertising our complete mobilepresence (including the mobile site and social media connections) will be made available at thecirculation and reference desks.

Evaluation

The NJIT mobile website project team, in collaboration with NJITs librarians and staff, hasdeveloped a list of outcome objectives to measure the effectiveness and usefulness of the NJITlibrary mobile website project implementation. The outcome-based evaluation assessed theefficacy and utility of the project by collecting and analyzing data from in-person interviews,online questionnaires, and comprehensive usage statistics of the NJIT library mobile websiteimplementation.

Outcome Objectives

Performance

Speedy download time

Navigation choices are clear, logical, consistent and available in relevant areas

Information is organized logically and meaningfully

Graphic files are small enough to download quicklyUsability and Design Effectiveness

Use of graphic images effectively without adding distraction

Sizes and resolutions display to conform to browsers standards

Typefaces and font sizes easily legible

Reflective of NJITs library image / branding

Outcome Objectives Rubric

Features of library mobile sites Performance

Usability and

Design

Effectiveness

1. Mobile library catalog (OPAC) Meets standard Meets standard

2. Mobile library catalog (OPAC) and my account services Meets standard Needs work

3. Information about hours Meets standard Meets standard

4. Directions to the library Exceeds standard Needs work

5. Information on how to contact the library via multiple

channels (chat/phone/email) Ask a LibrarianMeets standard Meets standard


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6. Library to mobile-enabled databases Meets standard Meets standard

7. News and announcement of library eventsNeeds work, slow

to loadExceeds standard

8. Access to full website Exceeds standard Exceeds standard

Outcome Evaluation Measurement

The project team used and continues to use the iPads to conduct one-on-one interviews withstudents, faculty and staff at the reference desk to obtain and measure the utility of the project. Inorder to regularly monitor the full impact of implementation, the project team will postevaluation questionnaires on the web for students, faculty and staff to respond at their leisure,anytime and anywhere. The team will also monitor, harvest, and analyze comprehensivestatistics such as usage, traffic, and information access provided by LibraryAnywhere to evaluateand validate each outcome objective.

Initial QA testing was completed on an ad hoc basis by the project team. Once most of the kinkswere ironed out, a formal evaluation spreadsheet was developed [see Appendix B]. Evaluationswere completed across various releases of several operating systems (including iOS, Android,BlackBerry OS, and Windows). While most users had success in navigating the mobile site, wedid find that some older versions of iOS had inconsistent results; these inconsistencies wereeliminated as soon as the users updated to the latest release of iTunes.

Usage Statistics

LibraryAnywhere software provides three types of interfaces for use by a variety of smartphone

devices, tablet computers, and desktop computers. They are a native app developed specificallyfor Apple and Android devices; a mobile app developed for use on the web without needing todownload the native app; and a universal version developed for older phones. All threeinterfaces meet 508 compliance as well as other accessibility standards.

The usage statistics are collected in four distinct areas: how many times the site was visited, howwell the site performs, the type of uses, and the type of devices used to access the site.

Usage by Month (Traffic)

Date Pages Users Visits

Pages per

Visit

Average Visit

(seconds)March 2012 2 2 2 1 0

April 2012 127 33 33 3.85 0

May 2012 754 71 304 2.48 25.1

June 2012 45 18 28 1.61 2.2

July 2012 31 16 23 1.35 4.1

August 1-14, 2012 26 8 12 2.17 3.2


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Types of Use

The percentage of use from the apps is as follow: 52% of library patrons prefer to use mobileweb app, 30% of library patrons prefer to use native app and 18% of library patrons use theuniversal version.

Date

Mobile

Web

Native

App

Universal

Version

March 2012 0 0 2

April 2012 5 0 122

May 2012 455 243 56

June 2012 27 16 2

July 2012 7 24 0

August 2012 10 19 0

Performance

The performance statistics provide a list tasks performed and how responsive are the results listsis as follow:

Task Performed Count Average Time (seconds)

Following most links 602 0.38

Loading pages or following some links 286 2.22

Displaying the mobile home page 284 0.45

Location pages 236 3.3

Event pages 71 11.85Searching the OPAC 70 1.92

Logging into the OPAC 23 0.91

Scanning a barcode within native app 1 1.98

Devices

The percentage of usage from all type of devices (smartphones, tablet computers, and desktopcomputers) is as follows: 9% of use is from the Android, 22% of use is from iPad/iPhone, 4% of


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use is from the Blackberry, 2% of use is from the Mac, 12% of use is from other and 50% of useis from Windows.

a) Devices Use of Native App: the percentage of native app usage from various devices isas follow: 28% of use is from Android, 71% of use is from Apple iOS.

b)

Devices Use of Mobile App: the percentage of mobile app usage from various devices isas follow: 1% of use is from Android, 4% of use is from Blackberry, 3% of use is fromMAC and 92% of use is from Windows.

c) Devices Use of Universal Version: the percentage of the universal version usage fromvarious devices is as follow: 13% of use is from Blackberry, 1% of use is from iPad, 65%of use is from others and 21% of use is from Windows.

Date Android Blackberry iPad iPhone iPod Touch Mac Other Windows

March 2012 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2

April 2012 0 0 0 0 0 0 118 9May 2012 67 30 82 80 15 5 0 475

June 2012 2 6 5 9 0 12 0 11

July 2012 9 6 1 13 1 1 0 0

August 2012 14 2 3 9 0 0 0 1

All Types of Devices Used a) Native App Used

b) Mobile Web Used c) Universal Version Used


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Conclusion

The pilot project has yielded useful information about NJITs implementation of a mobile

website and the associated issues and needs. Our use of the mobile website is low duringimplementation period because NJIT is an academic library; our students and faculty aretypically not on campus during summer months. To fully understand the utility of the librarymobile project, the project team plans to continue to market the library mobile website to theNJIT community during the fall 2012 semester and moving forward.

The data we collected also provides a direct correlation between the device of choice and use ofthe mobile application. Library patrons using mobile devices prefer to use the native app with theApple products while the library patrons using desktop computers prefer to use the mobile appwith Windows products.

We also plan to collect feedback, monitor usage statistics, and to regularly modify and improvethe mobile website to our meet and exceed users expectations for the fiscal year 2013 andbeyond. Promotional activities (deferred until fall 2012 because of the summer months) include:

Taking advantage of all opportunities to promote the NJIT library mobile website,including interactions at the reference desk, circulation desk, and classroom instruction;

Conducting in-person interviews to measure the effectiveness and usefulness of thelibrary mobile website;

Developing online survey/questionnaires to obtain feedback for the usefulness of themobile website.

With the forthcoming fiscal year we expect that the NJIT library mobile website will be assuccessful with our students and faculty as we anticipate. With users support for and use of themobile site, we will have ample justification for additional funding to continue our annualsubscription for LibraryAnywhere software. Otherwise we will need to invest in developing andmaintaining our own in-house mobile website at no additional cost (aside from additional stafftime).

We have learned with this pilot project that mobile technology is rapidly altering and extendingthe ways we communicate, conduct business, teach, learn, entertain ourselves, and makeconsumer decisions. We have also learned the device of choice. It has brought the internet intothe routines of our daily lives, enabling the retrieval and broadcast of information from anywhere

at any time. Through mobile connectivity, information is becoming further intertwined with ourlives more profoundly than when we sit down at a desktop or even with a laptop computer.

NJIT library can better serve our users by embracing the growing capabilities of mobiletechnologies. We can promote and have expanded our existing services when we offered mobileaccess to our website and online catalog; by supplying on-the-go-mobile reference services; andby providing mobile access to e-books, journal, and multimedia content. Mobile devices andservices provide tremendous flexibility for those who wish to take advantage of library services.


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We are extremely grateful to LibraryLinkNJ for their generosity in supporting this mobileinitiative.

Quote

Library consumers are discovering resources on all sorts of devices now and there just isnt

any excuse for not having a good digital experience waiting for them everywhere. Its all about

the customers experience. If you have it right, they will come back again and again. AnnHoang, Assistant University Librarian, NJIT


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References

1. Details of the LibraryLinkNJ Pilot Project FY2012: New Jersey Libraries-On-The-Go can

be found at http://librarylinknj.org/content/librarylinknj-mobile-pilot-project-fy2012.

2. NJIT Van Houten Library. (2009). NJIT Library Strategic Plan. Retrieved February 17,2012, from http://library.njit.edu/aboutus/

3. IDC. (2011, September 12). IDC: More Mobile Internet Users than Wireline Users in theU.S. by 2015.IDC Analyze the Future. Retrieved February 17, 2012, fromhttp://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS23028711


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Appendix A Marketing Example


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Appendix B Testing Log

Main Section Sub-section Expected Result

Search Catalog

Hours and Directions Van Houten Library (NJIT)

See all locations View both libraries

Phone Make phonecall

Email Send email

Events View blog posts

View Open Hours Hours should be posted

Other Information Hours should be a clickable link

View on Google Maps View and navigate to destination

Hours and Directions Littman Architecture Library (NJIT)

See all locations View both libraries

Phone Make phonecall

Email Send email

Events View blog postsView Open Hours Hours should be posted

View Open Hours Hours should be a clickable link

View on Google Maps View and navigate to destination

Ask A Librarian Chat with us -placeholder- will hold LibraryH3lp soon

Ask A Librarian Email us Send email

Ask A Librarian Call reference Make phonecall

Ask A Librarian Call circulation Make phonecall

Ask A Librarian Call Interlibrary Loan Make phonecall

Ask A Librarian Visit Us! View Research HelpDesk open hours Open browser window

My Account Log in to your account

Will allow login if id/last name match

Will disallow login if id/last name do NOT match

Using barcode

Using Institution Id

News & Announcements Littman Architecture Library (NJIT) See Arch lib's blog posts

Van Houten Library (NJIT) See Main lib's blog posts

Mobile Databases BioOne Mobile log in, search, access info

EbscoHost Mobile log in, search, access info

IEEE Xplore Mobile log in, search, access info

JSTOR Mobile log in, search, access info

LexisNexis Academic Mobile log in, search, access info

MEDLINE (via PubMed) Mobile log in, search, access info

PubGet Mobile log in, search, access info

SciFinder Scholar Mobile (username required) log in, search, access info

WorldCat log in, search, access info

View our full website list of databases Open library.njit.edu/databases/

NJIT Mobile Project Final Report 20120815

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