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Mlibs: Experimenting with mobile technologies in libraries
Jo Alcock @joeyanne
Why should you get serious about mobile web?
2011 even moreso!
What skills do m-librarians need?
• IT Skills
• Personal traits
• User focus
• Communication
• Collaboration
• Research and development
Kate Davis and Prof. Helen Partridge at #mlib11
What knowledge do m-librarians need?
• Different mobile devices
• Basics of using mobile software
• QR codes
• Location services
• Augmented reality
Mobile technologies in libraries
• Library content on mobile devices (books, articles)
• Library services from mobile devices (enquiries, statistics, collection management, circulation)
• Mobile specific content/services (location services, QR codes, augmented reality)
Library content on mobile devices
E-books, electronic articles, digitised materials...
Library services from mobile devices
Enquiry support, finding resources, circulation, collecting statistics, room booking...
SMS enquiries
State Library of Ohio
SMS tips
University of Huddersfield Library
Keele University Library (Bowker's Library Anywhere)
Mobile catalogue
Roving enquiries
University of Warwick Library
Mobile circulation
DC Public Library
Loaning mobile devices
Creekview High School Library
Collecting library statistics
University of Warwick Library
Collecting library statistics
North Carolina State Library
Other experiments
• Room booking by mobile (incorporating QR code outside room to check availability and book if free)
• Paperless online weeding (using iPad in the stacks to colour code stock as "dusty" and withdraw from catalogue if necessary)
Mobile specific content/services
QR codes, location services, augmented reality
London School of Economics Library
Charles Darwin University Library
The Wallace Center/Rochester Institute of Technology
Staffordshire University Library
University of Huddersfield Library
University of Bedfordshire Library
Delaware District County Library
Aberystwyth University Library
University of Bedfordshire Library (using ZBar)
EasyBib (reference management)
Oak Park Public Library
University of Warwick Library
University of Sheffield (campusM by oMbiel)
Miami University, Ohio
Great, but...
=
Some of this doesn't cost money!
• QR codes
• Location apps (e.g. Foursquare, SCVNGR)
• Barcode scanning apps
• Open source software
• Some mobile OPACs*
• Refworks/EBSCO*
*free with existing subscriptions
What do we need to do?
Charles Darwin University Library
What do users want?
Mobile infrastructure for libraries programme
Where do we go from here?
JISC m-library support project
• Evidence gathering
• Gathering existing resources and collecting new case studies to share
• Community building
• Facilitating communication and encouraging sharing of good practice
Support project blog
http://m-libraries.info
Useful resources
#mlibs
Please add resources using the mlibs tag
Points to take away• Be flexible and adaptable to
users' needs
• Reduce duplication of effort by sharing resources and information
• Utilise free resources
• Animoto (video creation)
• bit.ly (URL shortener with statistics)
• ZBar (barcode reader)
• Kaywa (QR code generator)
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