Assignment Four (Option One):
Mobile Technologies and Libraries
Brian Adams, Amos Huddlestun, and
Natalie Wright
Valdosta State University
Assignment Four (Option One):
Mobile Technologies and Libraries
As Kroski
(2008b) writes, “libraries are mastering the mobile Web to bring patrons a new
set of services” (p. 33). This paper
will discuss mobile technologies and libraries and will be divided into these sections:
background information about mobile technologies, the advantages and
disadvantages of integrating mobile technologies in libraries, applications of
mobile technologies in libraries, and concluding remarks. Each section will consider different device
types and contain comments about uses and services for different devices.
Background Information about Mobile Technologies
This
section will include information about exemplary devices, prevalence, and
typical uses of different mobile device types.
The following mobile device types will be considered: smartphones,
tablet computers, and single-function portable devices. Library-specific applications of these
technologies will be covered in the third section of this paper.
The first
mobile device type that we will consider is the smartphone, which is defined as
a “cell phone that includes additional software functions ([such] as e-mail or
an Internet browser)” (“Smartphone,” n.d.).
Popular smartphones include the iPhone, HTC-brand phones, and the BlackBerry. Mobile phones are the most popular device
type for media consumption and for communication: they are about four times
more prevalent than personal computers (Hu & Meier, 2011). Typical uses of smartphones include accessing
the Web, reading e-books, listening to music, capturing photographs and video,
and using applications for both work and leisure (Clay, 2011).
The second
mobile device type that we will consider is the tablet computer, which is
defined as a “mobile computer, larger than a mobile phone . . . , integrated
into a flat touch screen and primarily operated by touching the screen rather
than using a physical keyboard” (“Tablet computer,” 2012). Popular tablet computers include the iPad,
the Galaxy Tab, the PlayBook, and the TouchPad.
Among tablet computers, the iPad is the most popular by far: 67.1
million iPads have been sold as of March, 2012 (“iPad,” 2012). Typical uses of tablet computers partially
overlap uses for smartphones and include accessing the Web, reading e-books,
watching videos, and using applications for both work and leisure (including
small-scale document creation).
The final
mobile device that we will consider is single-function portable devices (specifically
e-readers and portable audio players). An
e-reader is a “portable electronic device used for reading books and other text
materials that are in digital form” (“E-Reader,” 2012). A portable audio player is a “personal mobile
device that allows the user to listen to recorded audio while mobile”
(“Portable audio player,” 2012). Popular
e-readers include the Kindle, the Nook, the Kobo, and the Sony Reader. Specific models are not significant with
portable audio players. Over 12 million
e-readers were sold in 2010, and sales have increased since then (International Data Corporation, 2011). Current information about overall portable
audio player sales was not found, but they are undoubtedly popular. E-readers are used to read both linearly (as
with novels) and to access reference texts while mobile. Portable audio players are used to listen to
music, audiobooks, and podcasts.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Integrating Mobile Technologies in
Libraries
The advantages of integrating mobile technologies in
libraries include staying relevant, increasing circulation, and providing
convenience for users. Digital media,
mobile technology, and Internet access are becoming more wide spread. In 2010, Joe
Murphy of Yale University summed up the situation well when he described “‘the
near universal adoption of mobile technology,’ pointing out that libraries must
be prepared for the inevitable change of patron expectations concerning mobile
devices . . ." (“Top tech trends,” 2010, p. 18).
A second advantage of mobile technology
is increased circulation. In a recent
report, the Library Journal’s 2012 Book Buying Survey found that “While ebook
circulation accounts for only two percent of circulation on average . . . the
net gain for ebook circulation over all libraries in the survey was 102
percent . . .” (Hoffert, 2012, p. 23). Adding
mobile technology typically increases a library’s circulation.
A third advantage mobile technology
provides is convenience. Patrons are
able to access the library’s catalog, receive library communications,
communicate with the library’s reference staff, check their account, and
reserve and download e-content. As Clay
(2011) states, “the key reason for embedding mobile device usage into the
library is that once done, it then allows the library to leave the physical
confines of the building and allows users to take the library experience with
them” (p. S9).
There are also disadvantages of
integrating mobile technology. These
include a plethora of different standards and formats, the shifting model of
content ownership, and increased pressures on staff and budgets. Companies and institutions are still in the
throes of settling on one e-media standard, and thus creating difficult choices
for libraries which are applying mobile technology. Pawlowski writes: “Not all vendors offer all
formats, and some may offer other types of downloadable media in addition to e-books
and audiobooks. Also, the compatibility
of formats depends on the computer, device, and vendor delivery tool” (2011, p.
61).
Another unsettled issue is the change
from libraries owning content to libraries leasing content. If a library purchases a hard copy of a book
it has the right to loan that book and do with it as it sees fit under the
first sale doctrine of the Copyright Act.
However, ". . . there is no equivalent of a statutory license for
e-books that would allow libraries to lend them without explicit,
title-by-title permission from publishers” (Rosenblatt, 2011, n.p.). Also, some publishers are even refusing to
make their e-book catalog available to libraries (Coffman, 2012).
Finally, mobile technology puts
additional requirements on already stressed library staff and budgets. Web sites need to be to be made mobile
friendly, staff need to be trained on a dizzying and changing variety of
e-readers and download processes, and all the hardware, subscriptions,
marketing, and staff training needs to be paid for.
Applications of Mobile Technologies in
Libraries
In
2010, 61% of libraries offered some form of mobile service (Thomas, 2012). The three most common mobile services are
mobile websites, mobile online catalogs, and text-message reference services;
these services are the most popular, not only because they are relatively easy
to implement, but also because of the wide-spread adoption of Internet-capable,
text-messaging cellphones (Thomas, 2012).
While non-mobile websites can be accessed on smartphones, sites which
are specifically designed for mobile users allow libraries to offer quick and
easy access to frequently requested information (Kroski, 2008a). Text-message reference services allow
libraries to interact with patrons who might not utilize library services
otherwise (Thomas, 2012).
MP3
players also became popular in the last decade, and libraries responded with
instructional podcasts and self-guided tours (Kroski, 2008b). Several university libraries offer podcasts
on everything from Boolean operators to citations (Kroski, 2008b). With the specific popularity of the iPod,
many offer their podcasts for free on an iTunes channel for ease in downloading
(Kroski, 2008b). As MP3 players began to
incorporate video displays, academic libraries also developed instructional
videos on many subjects that could also be downloaded to mobile devices (Kroski,
2008b). Academic iTunes channels became
so numerous that the iTunes store developed an offshoot called iTunes U
specifically to host instructional podcasts and videos (Cuddy, 2010).
In
2011, the proliferation of e-readers increased dramatically (Thomas, 2012). Book circulation was down for the year, but e-book
circulation increased by 102% (Kelley, 2012).
Specific mobile devices have the ability to drive library participation. Overdrive, a popular e-book vendor, reported
that the number of participating libraries in the U.S. increased from 11,000 to
15,000 in less than a year after the Kindle e-reader was added to its list of compatible
devices (Kelley & Rapp, 2012).
In
addition to e-readers, tablets are also gaining in popularity. Tablets and smartphones utilize small
programs called “apps” to customize their functions to the user (Forsyth, 2011). EBSCO, JSTOR, and Gale have all developed
mobile platforms for their databases to take advantage of the smartphone market
(Thomas, 2012, Young, 2011). Apps are
also allowing libraries to use mobile device capabilities to promote and use
special collections (Boyer, 2011). A
great example of this is the PhillyHistory.org
mobile app developed by the Philadelphia City Archives. This app allows users to view historic
photographs from the Philadelphia City Archives of the user’s current location. The app uses the mobile device’s GPS to
determine the user’s location and then accesses and displays corresponding
historic photos of that location (Boyer, 2011).
Conclusion
Thomas
(2012) suggests that advances in mobile device technology will continue to fuel
more library service innovations. One
potential application is integration between library collections. Forsyth (2011) envisions apps that will tie
collections to locations, much like the PhillyHistory.org
Mobile app, but will combine resources from multiple libraries. The future relationship between mobile technology
and libraries is about “augmented reality” (Forsyth, 2011): being able to
incorporate layers of new information into your day to day life, thus enabling
libraries to enrich their patron’s lives no matter where they are.
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