Transcript Hot Topics Annual 2010 Josh Bishoff slides

Going Mobile at Illinois:
Opportunities for an
Enhanced Mobile Experience
Josh Bishoff,
University of Illinois
RUSA MARS
Hot Topics @ ALA,
6/26/2010
Mobile tasks
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•
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Find books.
Find libraries.
Find librarians.
Find articles.
Mobile Device Challenges
• App or Mobile Website?
– Website. Trust me.
• Only one column for content
– We have gotten used to having, say, 3.
• Unpredictable support for styles,
JavaScript, AJAX
• Differing user interfaces: cursor, finger
Quick Shout-Outs
Libraries open now
Library
Details
Cutting down the Catalog
Cutting Down the Catalog (2)
XML to Mobile
• Only the most
important data
• Big clickable areas (to
anticipate fingers, not
necessarily cursors)
The Catalog
Holdings  Maps
Virtual New Bookshelf
• http://www.library.illinois.edu/newtitles/
New Bookshelf
Bus Data
Preliminary user feedback/
log data
• Patrons make frequent typos when
entering search terms
• Patrons generally use fewer search terms
(I think—data is inconclusive), prefer
keyword searching
• Good success with known-item searching
• Patrons want more content
The smartphone landscape
App or Webapp?
Apps:
• cool
• can leverage the hardware
o the filesystem, locationbased services, user
content, other
applications
• Will only work on the
platform you chose
(Android, Iphone)
WebApps:
• Less cool
• Run on everything
• Less time to write
• Can be accomplished with
existing skills/structures,
just smaller screens,
different tasks
Buy or Build?
• Build
– If your library already develops its own web
presence & works with catalog data, mobile
development fits into that workflow—and it
informs & improves your entire web presence.
We’re not suddenly talking about outsourcing all
web development; why would we outsource
mobile?
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