Mobile library initiatives: a new way to revitalize the academic library settings
| Date | 01 July 2019 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/LHTN-05-2019-0032 |
| Published date | 01 July 2019 |
| Pages | 15-21 |
| Author | Saleeq Ahmad Dar |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science |
Mobile library initiatives: a new way to revitalize
the academic library settings
Saleeq Ahmad Dar
Introduction
The revolution of mobile devices,
especially smartphones, has changed
the framework of academia. Libraries
cannot remain isolated, they have to
embrace mobile library services to stay
relevant or there are chances that they
will become redundant. The Internet
Trends Report (2017) asserts that, 3.4
billion people are now connected to the
Internet. This equates to almost 50 per
cent of the world’s population. At the
same time, there are 5 billion unique
mobile users (71 per cent penetration)
and 2.8 billion smartphones globally.
This explosion has altered the
relationship between users and libraries.
University students using smartphones
and mobile devices for information
access, problem solutions, sharing
information, reporting social issues,
podcasting, watching lectures, emailing
and communicating with their peers etc.
It is being widely discussed that today’s
generation of students are immersed in a
world pervasive with mobile and
networked technologies. It is even
claimed that their way of thinking is
different to their ancestors. Some have
even gone further claiming that the
brains of students today are “physically
different” (Prensky, 2002). The peculiar
question that comes to mind is that what
is the perception of such users regarding
libraries? Are libraries ready to deal
with this expanding base of users?
Librarians deny the fact that they are
losing their user base. According to an
EBSCO survey on how college students
conduct research, 68 per cent begin their
research by using Google and Wikipedia
(NMC Horizon Report, 2017). Therefore,
it is time for libraries to move forward,
mobilize there resources and offer
services ubiquitously, if they want to stay
relevant to a new age of users on the
move. Libraries can better serve their
users by embracing the growing
capabilities of mobile technology. They
canpromoteandexpandtheirexisting
services by offering mobile access to their
websites and online public access
catalogs; by supplying on-the-go mobile
reference services; and by providing
mobile access to e-books, journals, video,
audio books, and multimedia content
(Vollmer, 2010).
As suggested by Lippincott (2009),it
is important to provide mobile services
only after a user needs assessment.
Consequently, it is incumbent to survey
which features users want to be
included in mobile library services. The
present case study examines user
perceptions regarding mobile library
services from ten academic institutes in
New Delhi, India. For the study, the
following questions were identified:
Q1. Do students want mobile library
initiatives to access library and
information services/sources
through mobile devices? If so
Q2. What features they would like
to access in each initiative?
The growing demand in information
“on the go” is quite clear from the
number of studies recently conducted
by a number of researchers across the
globe. As the society becomes more
technologically connected and the new
and more innovative methods of using
these technologies evolve, libraries
have deployed customized services to
promote accessibility for patrons to get
everything on their mobile device.
The California Digital library
conducted a survey to find the need of
mobile use in libraries. The study found
that 55 per cent indicated that they
would like to search the library catalog
on their mobile device frequently or
occasionally (Meier, 2010). Nowlan
(2013) conducted a similar study to find
out student attitudes at the University of
Regina whether they prefer to interact
with the library on their mobile devices
and how to best construct a mobile site
to suit the university community’s
needs. The survey indicated that the
library catalog was the most popular
resource chosen to become mobile-
enabled. Cummings et al. (2010)
carried out a survey and found that a
total of 58.4 per cent tof respondents
who own a web enabled handheld
device indicated that they would use
small screen devices, such as PDAs or
web-enabled cell phones to search a
library OPAC. Another study by Shinde
et al. (2012) identified that MOPAC is
offered in all (100 per cent) Association
of Universities and Colleges of Canada
(AUCC). The expanded use of mobile
library sites in studies from other
countries, shows its significance and it
also gives an insight into future
directions to provide mobile library
services in developing countries such as
India.
Similarly, there is much research on
the use of mobile apps of library
websites, services and resources.
Mobile apps are software applications
developed and coded with a specific
operating system. Bomhold (2014)
focused on how libraries can provide
access to mobile services, either
through an app or through a mobile
website. She found that 71.2 per cent of
the 73 libraries surveyed provided some
type of mobile access to library services
with 53.4 per cent having university
apps with access to the library. Hennig
(2014) in his study gives ideas for using
mobile apps in multi-purpose library
programs and services. Ideas include
creating online app guides, loaning
tablets with apps, holding author events
(interactive e-books), hosting app
discussion groups, inviting local experts
who can showcase the use of apps,
incorporating apps in library instruction,
recommending content-creation apps to
users and hosting community events for
creating apps.
LIBRARY HITECH NEWS Number 5 2019, pp. 15-21, V
CEmerald Publishing Limited, 0741-9058, DOI 10.1108/LHTN-05-2019-0032 15
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