Presented at Internet Librarian 2011. Article: http://bit.ly/dhFTEb

1. gone mobile?
lisa carlucci thomas
@lisacarlucci
internet librarian 2011

2. mobile in motion
• mobile services are an increasingly relevant
consideration for libraries [.]
• significant progress
– cultural shift: new
norms, expectations, possibilities
– how has mobile changed your . . .
work / home/ family / information life?

3. mobile in motion
• who’s gone mobile?
– LJ email survey [2010]
– 483 respondents
• currently offer:
– 44% academic libraries
– 34% public libraries
• none; no plans to offer:
– 35% academic libraries
– 44% public libraries

4. mobile in motion

5. mobile in motion
• leading mobile services
– mobile website
– mobile catalog
– SMS notifications
– SMS reference
• 2011 & beyond
– ebooks, research databases, location
integration, QR codes, mobile apps, patron self-
service, …

6. risks & rewards
challenges
• budgets
– 53% academic & 56% public responses cited
“limited staff time”, “cost,” and “no budget”
• perceptions
– “why would we?”

7. risks & rewards
challenges
• priorities
– limited demand, not suited to immediate
needs, unreliable or insufficient technology
available
• skills
– “there is one librarian who maintains all the
computers, the website, & everything else [tech].”

8. risks & rewards
“there is no time”
to learn. to implement. to assess. to teach. to revise.

9. risks & rewards
innovations
• budgets
– mobile doesn’t have to be expensive
– tiffini travis, CSU LB: “edpunk goes mobile:
mobile library sites with zero budget”
– http://tiffinianne.wordpress.com/2011/01/22/8

10. risks & rewards
innovations
• perceptions
– “why would we?”
– new norms exist for the mobile accessible library
– jeff wisniewski, univ of pittsburgh : mobile usability
– edward iglesias & wit meesangnil, CCSU : less is more
when it comes to the mobile website

11. risks & rewards
challenges
• priorities
– innovation helps evaluate and set priorities
through learning; trial and error
– michael whitchurch, brigham young university:
“just because one implementation is not used
does not mean *it isn’t+ usable in the library.”

12. risks & rewards
challenges
• skills
– connect & collaborate with skilled partners
– dan desanto, university of vermont : place-based
digital collections (there’s an app for that)

13. thank you
lisa carlucci thomas
@lisacarlucci
lisa@lisacarlucci.com