mobile website design for libraries

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This presentation, given by Steve Butzel at the 2012 Connecticut Library Association conference, covers trends in mobile website design and possibilities for libraries. Library apps are critically reviewed while simpler, less expensive mobile website techniques are favored. In addition, Steve discusses his Online Newsstand Project which improves access to library database content. Steve Butzel, Assistant Director of the Portsmouth Public Library, Portsmouth, NH

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Serving Library Patrons in the Mobile Space Steve Butzel

Portsmouth Public Library

“Imitate, Assimilate, Innovate” Steve Butzel

Portsmouth Public Library

Mobile & Smartphone Stats

Two in five cell owners (42%) own a smartphone as of May 2011*

Since 83% of Americans own some kind of mobile phone, this means that one-third of all American adults (35%) are smartphone owners.*

Morgan Stanley analysts predict that the mobile web will be bigger than desktop Internet usage by 2015

* Information taken from 2011 Pew Internet and American Life study, “Smartphone Adoption & Usage”

Quick, easy access to information…

What do our patrons want in the mobile space? What do our patrons want in the mobile space?

When does the library open or close? When does the library open or close?

When is story hour today? When is story hour today?

New arrivals

Does my library have these? Does my library have these?

So keep your mobile site simple!

Back to our users…they’re busy. Back to our users…they’re busy.

Really busy. Really busy.

Apps

http://www.bibliocommons.com

But can we do better?

What are other trends in mobile webpage design?

What seem to be the trends?

A branded banner image

A good attention grabbing visual

Some interactivity, transactions

Easy navigation

Ties to Social Networking Sites

Automatically hide the address bar

<body onload="setTimeout(function() {

window.scrollTo(0, 1) }, 100);"></body>

Other possibilities

Gamification

http://gamesandlibraries.wetpaint.com/page/2011+Games+and+public+libraries

Gamification

http://gamification.co/2011/04/05/find-the-future-at-the-new-york-public-library/

What do you think?

Some technical stuff (Thanks Brian)

Auto-Detect & Redirect Options

Testing on multiple devices

Tracking statistics

Auto-Detect & Redirect: Options

CSS (like Canton Public Library)

Best method, but most takes the most work to

implement

Javascript

Runs in patron’s browser, so not totally reliable

PHP & ASP

Runs on the server, so better than javascript

Auto-Detect & Redirect: PHP

http://detectmobilebrowsers.mobi/

1. Download their main script to your webserver

2. Use their Function Generator to build the code

for your main website homepage

3. Edit your .htaccess to allow .html files to run

PHP code

4. Their FAQ explains everything

Auto-Detect & Redirect

But just in case…

Failsafe Link

Test, Test, Test, Test, Test

Try your new mobile site out on as many

different phones you can find

Online phone emulators

http://www.testiphone.com

http://mobiready.com

http://validator.w3.org/mobile/

Firefox User Agent Switcher

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/59/

Tracking Usage Stats

http://www.statcounter.com

http://www.google.com/analytics/

http://piwik.org

What to look for

Overall usage

Visitor location

Devices used

…all the usual stats

Tracking Usage Stats: Overall Use

Tracking Usage Stats: Location

Tracking Usage Stats: Devices

Other Good Web Resources

One Pager, (http://influx.us/onepager)

Jakob Nielsen, “Mobile Site vs. Full Site” (http://www.useit.com/alertbox/mobile-vs-full-sites.html)

“Why We Shouldn’t Make Separate Mobile

Websites” (http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2012/04/19/why-we-shouldnt-

make-separate-mobile-websites/)

Online Newsstand Project

http://www.theonlinenewsstand.org

Participating Libraries

Participating Libraries

Online Newsstand Project - Gale

Thank You!

skbutzel@cityofportsmouth.com

@sbutzel (rarely)

603-766-1711

Brian Herzog, SwissArmyLibrarian.net/mobile

herzogbr@swissarmylibrarian.net

My colleagues: Jennifer Moore, Kim McKee,

Heather Armitage, Barbara Bourgoine

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