Transcript Mobile Library Projects at North Carolina State University

Mobile Library Projects at
North Carolina State University
Tito Sierra
NCSU Libraries
CNI 2009 Fall Task Force Meeting
December 15, 2009
Outline
• Background
• Mobile Library Projects at NCSU
• NCSU Libraries Mobile
• The WolfWalk Project
• Issues to Consider When Developing
Mobile Services
Background
Questions for the Audience
• How many of you work at an
organization with a mobile presence?
Questions for the Audience
• How many of you work at an
organization with a mobile presence?
• How many of you don’t have a mobile
presence, but are planning one?
Questions for the Audience
• How many of you work at an
organization with a mobile presence?
• How many of you don’t have a mobile
presence, but are planning one?
• How many of you are curious about
mobile, but aren’t sure if it’s right for
your organization?
Why Go Mobile?
Why Go Mobile?
Source: Mary Meeker, “Economy + Internet Trends”, Web 2.0 Summit, October 20, 2009
Why Go Mobile?
Mobile devices provide new opportunities
for enhancing the user experience
with library services and library digital
collections
Libraries and the Mobile Web
How should libraries approach the
mobile web space?
Mobile Library Projects
at NCSU
NCSU Libraries Mobile
Project Overview
• A suite of library
services
• Optimized to three
tiers of mobile
devices
• Based on MIT
Mobile Web source
• Launched
November 2009
“MobiLIB” at NCSU (2007)
NC State Mobile Web (2009)
NC State Mobile Web (2009)
NCSU Libraries Mobile (2009)
• Locations & Hours
• Computer
Availability
• Catalog Search
• Ask Us
• Webcams
• News & Events
Guiding Principles
Don’t reproduce the library website—distill
it to what people would actually use in a
mobile context
Guiding Principles
Save the time of the library user
NCSU Libraries Mobile Demo
http://m.lib.ncsu.edu
Locations & Hours
Computer Availability
Catalog Search
Ask Us
Webcams
News & Events
Usage Analysis
Preliminary usage analysis based on first
eight weeks of transaction logs
Pageviews by Service
Pageviews by Platform
Project Team
• David Woodbury, NCSU Libraries Fellow
• Jason Casden, Digital Library Initiatives
• Markus Wust, Digital Scholarship &
Publishing Center
The WolfWalk Project
WolfWalk Project Overview
• A historical guide to
NCSU campus
landmarks
• Images sourced
from University
Archives
• In development,
scheduled to go live
January 2010
WolfWalk Concept
Increase the visibility and accessibility of
university archives by integrating this
content in a self-directed, locationaware walking tour for mobile devices
Todd Kosmerick (University Archivist) and Adam Berenbak, NCSU Special Collections Research Center
Markus Wust, Content Lead for the WolfWalk Project
Jason Casden, Lead Developer for the WolfWalk Project
WolfWalk Content
First freshman class posing in front of Holladay Hall (1890), NCSU University Archives Photo Collection
WolfWalk Content
View of card catalog in D.H. Hill Library (1972), NCSU University Archives Photo Collection
WolfWalk Demo
(Early alpha preview)
Project Team
• Tito Sierra, Digital Library Initiatives
• Jason Casden, Digital Library Initiatives
• Markus Wust, Digital Scholarship and Publishing
Center
• Brian Dietz, Special Collections Research Center
• Todd Kosmerick, Special Collections Research
Center
• Steven Morris, Digital Library Initiatives
• Joseph Ryan, Digital Library Initiatives
Issues to Consider When
Developing Mobile Services
Basic Questions
• What value does the “mobile” aspect of
the project add to the user experience
with a library service or collection?
• What incentives do users have to
access this content on a mobile device,
rather than via existing channels?
Mobile User Experience
• Designing for mobile is about more than
designing for a small screen device
• Designing an effective mobile user
experience requires a greater
understanding of the user context
• Lack of prevalent models makes this
work both challenging and exciting
Native Apps vs Mobile Web Apps
• Do you build a platform specific “native
app” (e.g., iPhone App, Android App), or
a mobile website that works across a
range of devices?
• What are the tradeoffs of each
approach for your project?
When to Make a Native App
• Charging for it
• Creating a game
• Using specific
locations*
• Using cameras
• Using accelerometers
• Accessing the
filesystems
• Offline users
The Case for Mobile Web Apps
“I believe that unless your application meets
one of these native application criteria, you
should not create a native application, but
should instead focus on building a mobile
web application.”
— Brian Fling, “Mobile Design and Development”
Shifting Landscape
• Mobile technology is changing rapidly,
making it difficult to plan for what’s next
• New standards and technology are
unevenly distributed across platforms
• New interaction models emerging
• Location-Based Services
• Augmented Reality
Location-Based Services
Source: Mary Meeker, “Economy + Internet Trends”, Web 2.0 Summit, October 20, 2009
Augmented Reality
Source: Layar.eu
Experimentation
If you plan to work in the mobile space, be
prepared to take risks and experiment
Don’t overplan—be open to new ideas
and opportunities
Thanks!
Tito Sierra
Associate Head for Digital Library Development
NCSU Libraries
[email protected]
More Information
NCSU Libraries Mobile:
http://m.lib.ncsu.edu
The WolfWalk Project:
http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/dli/projects/wolfwalk