Curious about QR codes? Apprehensive about the potential use of mobile apps? This session will explain some of the ways mobile technologies can be used to support library services including mobile access to resources; using QR codes around the library; and using mobile devices to support roving enquiries. Whether you are a complete novice to mobile technologies or are already using them, the session should give you some new, low cost ideas to try out at your library and introduce you to the work of the JISC-funded m-library community support project.

1. Mlibs: Experimenting with mobile
technologies in libraries
Jo Alcock
@joeyanne

2. Why should you get serious
about mobile web?
2011 even moreso!

4. What skills do m-librarians need?
• IT Skills
• Personal traits
• User focus
• Communication
• Collaboration
• Research and development
Kate Davis and Prof. Helen Partridge at #mlib11

5. What knowledge do m-librarians need?
• Different mobile devices
• Basics of using mobile
software
• QR codes
• Location services
• Augmented reality

6. Mobile technologies in libraries
• Library content on mobile
devices (books, articles)
• Library services from
mobile devices (enquiries,
statistics, collection
management, circulation)
• Mobile specific content/
services (location services,
QR codes, augmented
reality)

7. Library content on
mobile devices
E-books, electronic articles, digitised materials...

15. Library services from
mobile devices
Enquiry support, finding resources, circulation,
collecting statistics, room booking...

16. SMS
enq
uirie
s
State Library of Ohio

17. SMS
tips
University of Huddersfield Library

18. Mob
cata ile
logu
e
Keele University Library (Bowker's Library Anywhere)

19. Rov
ing
enq
uirie
s
University of Warwick Library

20. Mob
circ ile
ulat
ion
DC Public Library

21. Loa
mob ning
ile d
evic
es
Creekview High School Library

22. Col
libra lectin
ry s g
tatis
tics
University of Warwick Library

23. Col
libra lectin
ry s g
tatis
tics
North Carolina State Library

24. Other experiments
• Room booking by mobile (incorporating QR
code outside room to check availability and
book if free)
• Paperless online weeding (using iPad in the
stacks to colour code stock as "dusty" and
withdraw from catalogue if necessary)

25. Mobile specific
content/services
QR codes, location services, augmented reality

26. London School of Economics Library

27. Charles Darwin University Library

28. The Wallace Center/Rochester Institute of Technology

29. Staffordshire University Library

30. University of Huddersfield Library

31. University of Bedfordshire Library

32. Delaware District County Library

33. Aberystwyth University Library

34. University of Bedfordshire Library (using ZBar)

35. EasyBib (reference management)

36. Oak Park Public Library

37. University of Warwick Library

38. University of Sheffield (campusM by oMbiel)

39. Miami University, Ohio

40. Great, but...
=

41. Some of this doesn't cost money!
• QR codes
• Location apps (e.g.
Foursquare, SCVNGR)
• Barcode scanning apps
• Open source software
• Some mobile OPACs*
• Refworks/EBSCO*
*free with existing subscriptions

42. What do we need to do?

43. What do users want?
Charles Darwin University Library

44. Where do we go from here?
Mobile
infrastructure for
libraries programme

45. JISC m-library support project
• Evidence gathering
• Gathering existing resources and collecting
new case studies to share
• Community building
• Facilitating communication and
encouraging sharing of good practice

46. Support project blog
http://m-libraries.info

47. Useful resources
#mlibs
Please add resources using the mlibs tag

48. Points to take away
• Be flexible and adaptable to
users' needs
• Reduce duplication of effort by
sharing resources and
information
• Utilise free resources
• Animoto (video creation)
• bit.ly (URL shortener with statistics)
• ZBar (barcode reader)
• Kaywa (QR code generator)

49. Contact
Jo Alcock
@joeyanne
jo.alcock@bcu.ac.uk
http://m-libraries.info
http://bit.ly/mlibsproject