academic libraries and mobile technologies eithne barry edinburgh napier university

Academic Libraries and Mobile Technologies

Eithne BarryEdinburgh Napier University

Project Overview

Collaboration between Edinburgh Napier and University of Highlands and Islands, funded by SLIC.

Two strands of project:• To investigate student usage of and attitudes

towards mobile technologies • How UK academic libraries are using/can use

mobile technologies to support students

Whatdoour users want?

Project survey – Nov 2010

• Across three universities - Edinburgh Napier, Queen Margaret University, University of the Highlands and Islands.

• Students only• iPad offered as prize.

• 1061 responses.• Majority of replies were from ENU, this sample

fairly representative of student population.

Edinburgh Napier catch-up survey – Oct 2011

• Same survey questions.• Edinburgh Napier University only - update to

inform our own developments.

• 182 responses• Much smaller response group – less

representative.

Say hello to Jane

I’m the ‘average student’ here at

Edinburgh Napier University.

What sort of mobiles do students have?

Remember...

Blue = Nov 2010 survey = 1061

Green = Oct 2011 survey = 182

•2010, 68% had a ‘smartphone’

•2011 - 86% said they have one.• Top smartphone makes -

2010 2011Apple 25% 28% Nokia 19% 9%

Samsung 14% 18%

Blackberry 14% 16%

HTC 11% 17%

Operating system (smartphones only)

Backed up by sales?• BBC news 28th Oct – ‘Samsung overtakes

Apple in smartphone shipments’

61% (64%) of survey respondents said they had owned their current mobile phone for less than a year.

81% (85%) had owned their current mobile for less than 18 months.

My phone is nearly a year old, and I’m

thinking about getting a new one. Maybe an

iPhone? I don’t know, the Samsung Galaxy SII

looks pretty good...

Can they afford web browsing?

43% (53%) had ‘unlimited’ access to the web on their mobile

But... 32% (16%) said contract/funds stop them using the mobile web as much as they would like

QR codes (all respondents)

18% (47%) knew what a QR code was

8% (34%) had a QR code reader on their mobilephone/device

Which services used on mobile phone/device once a day

I mostly use my mobile for texting and phoning.

I’m on the web most days (checking Facebook

or email), but I don’t read much on there.

The screen is too small.

Using Library services15% (24%) had used Library services on their mobile

Services they had used (2010):

Library services you would use on your mobile if you could?

I haven’t used Library pages on my mobile.

That’d be great though, especially to save time. Like if I could search for

a book on the bus on the way to the Uni.

Student quotes‘Access to

information is in your pocket! 24/7’

‘Can get information any time, do what I wanna do,

such as find books during the lecture teacher said. But the

screen is not big enough.’

‘I see only benefits. This age is fast, connection

is important.’

Summary

• A high proportion of students have smartphones and are browsing the web daily.

• 90% (95%) would like to access at least one Library service.

However…

• 32% (16%) say contract/funds stop them using the web as much as they would like (possibly becoming less of an issue?)• Students over 30 are less likely to

browse the mobile web regularly.• Reading content (such as e-books, journals

or newspapers) is less common.

Challenges for us

• Designing services that suit our users, for a range of mobile phone/devices and operating systems.

• Keeping up with the rate of change of phone/devices

• Providing equity of services for all users.

How are libraries responding?

How are libraries responding?

• Information for users – Mobile-accessible websites and apps.

• Access to searching – Mobile OPACs.

• Accessing Library Collections.• Accessing the Library building.• SMS/text alerts and SMS/text

reference.

Mobile-accessible websites and appsWhat’s the difference?

Mobile website Mobile appBrowser-based pages linked together and accessed via the web.

Application that you download and install on your mobile

Compatible across a range of devices (iPhone, Android, Blackberry etc)

Normally require a separate version to be developed for each type of device.

Instantly available, easily updatable, can’t be deleted.

First have to download and install the app. User has to install updates (and most apps only used for 30 days?)

Mobile websites can be developed that act very much like apps (or are app accessed through a browser).

May be faster ? Gaming, offline content or using particular phone functionality (GPS, camera etc).

UK Number of University-wide sites andapps using:• CampusM – Liverpool John

Moore’s, Roehampton, Sheffield, Dundee, Edinburgh etc.

• Blackboard Mobile Central – Sheffield Hallam University 1st.

International• Boopsie – Integrating catalogue

and other university information e.g. University of Auckland, Brown University Library, WorldCat.

Mobile websites and apps

Access to searching - Mobile OPACs

• Library Anywhere by Library Thing – e.g. Edinburgh Napier University, Queen Margaret University, University of Stirling.

• In-house solutions – e.g. Cambridge, Oxford.

• Innovative Interfaces (AirPac) proprietary, with Millenium – e.g. University of Glasgow, Sheffield Hallam University, Liverpool University.

Accessing Library Collections

• Issues with e-books - digital rights management, exclusive platforms, non-compatible file types etc.

• At ENU - we buy e-books from four major aggregators, journals from 100s? In our trials, journals were much easier to access than e-books.

- Research databases JSTOR mobile IEEE Xplore ... etc

Accessing the Library building

What’s black and white all over?www.wowdewow.co.uk

Accessing the Library building• Huddersfield University - Linking

physical to virtual using QR codes.

• Bath University – QR codes on items on the catalogue allow you to save Title, Author and Classmark directly to your phone (and then you can find it on the shelf).

• Stirling University – group study room booking, treasure hunts.

SMS/Text alerts

• Some libraries provide text messages when books are overdue, or reservations are ready for collections. E.g. University of Manchester.

• Others are providing reference services via text or instant messaging.

• List of libraries doing both of the above, and services used at: www.libsuccess.org

What we’re doing at Edinburgh Napier

• Surveying students every year, to get trends.• Providing a mobile version of our catalogue

using Library Anywhere.• Providing links and help for mobile-friendly

database interfaces.• Creating a mobile website for our key Library

and IT services.• Making more of our University website mobile

accessible.

http://mlib.blog.com•Project report•Survey results•Case studies•Beginner’s guides•E-resources trials

Questions?