Document Type

Conference Presentation

Publication Date

6-23-2009

Abstract

The pervasiveness of mobile devices in our society and even within our libraries is impossible to ignore. As these devices become ubiquitous, the temptation to adapt a wide range of library services to these devices can be overwhelming. Many factors need to be considered before embarking upon any mobile application development. What do our patrons want? Where should our focus be in providing useful and engaging services? To help answer these questions, the Ryerson University Library performed a survey of student mobile device usage in November 2008 to gain a better understanding of how mobile devices were being used by students and to provide insights on what library services might best be adapted to the small screen. This presentation will explore the results of that survey and compare it with similar surveys that have been undertaken at other universities. We will also look at some statistics that the library has been collecting regarding current mobile service use including text-messaging from the catalogue and general access use of the main and mobile versions of our website. Based on the trends we are seeing in the surveys and usage statistics, we will discuss our current mobile service initiatives and make some recommendations and suggestions regarding future development and implementation of mobile services. We will explore where we might best focus our efforts to provide our users with a seamless and engaging mobile library experience.

Comments

Presented at the m-Libraries 2009 conference, June 23, 2009, Vancouver.