It’s Time to Look at Your Library’s Mobile Website Again! Bohyun KimDigital Access Librarian/ Florida International University Medical Library @bohyunkim (Twitter)http://www.slideshare.net/bohyunkimhttp://bohyunkim.net American Library Association Annual Conference, Anaheim, CA. 2012.

Before we start

This presentation has been adapted from a small part of my presentation that I gave at Amigos 2012 Online Conference. June 8, 2012. Access by Touch: Delivering Library Services Through Mobile Technologies.

You can view the slides for the full presentation I have given at Amigos 2012 Online conference here:http://www.slideshare.net/bohyunkim/the-mobile-web-and-the-mobile-websites-of-libraries-how-they-changed-for-the-last-few-years

A few years ago vs. NowSource: http://www.libsuccess.org/index.php?title=M-Libraries

http://www.slideshare.net/bohyunkim/planning-for-your-librarys-first-mobile-website

http://www.bohyunkim.net/blog/archives/705http://journal.code4lib.org/articles/2055

Many many lib

raries now offer

a mobile

version of their l

ibrary websites.

Mobile computing changed“big time” in the last few years.

Photo from Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pagedooley/4313864280/lightbox/

Mobile Internet

Source: Luke Wroblewski, Mobile First (2011) p.8.

Wireless data tsunami

“Over the past five years, AT&T’s wireless data traffic has grown 20,000%.”

“The nation’s second largest wireless carrier’s data traffic has at least doubled every year since 2007.”

Source: http://techcrunch.com/2012/02/14/atts-wireless-data-traffic-doubles-every-year-but-throttling-is-not-the-solution/

Capable mobile device+ Faster network

Desktop Internet

http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-02-15/tech/29983706_1_tablet-market-pcs-smartphones

Smartphones= The most common Web access devices now

“ Home usage of personal computers in 2010 was down 20% from 2008 in the United States. The culprit? Smartphones and tablets gobbling up our time online (http://bkaprt.com/mf/5).

“ In November 2010, visitors to web-based email sites declined 6%, but visitors accessing email with their mobile devices grew by 36% (http://bkaprt.com/mf/6).

“ Traffic to mobile websites in 2010 grew 600% after tripling between 2009 and 2010 (http://bkaprt.com/mf/7).

Source: Luke Wroblewski, Mobile First (2011) p.8.

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/120590/

How are those mobile sites now?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rwhgould/5554807256/lightbox/

2010 2012

2010 2012

http://sherman.library.nova.edu/m/

2010 2012

http://medlib.fu.edu/m

2010 2012

http://m.harvard.edu/libraries/

2010 2012

https://www.lib.umn.edu/mobile/

2010 2012

http://m.library.oregonstate.edu/

2010 2012

http://m.lib.ncsu.edu/

General trend: More stuff in the mobile site

The library mobile sites are now showing more information beyond library hours, location, and contact us.

While this type of basic information appeared as primary tasks before, now search and research, library resource use is appearing to be more of primary tasks on a library mobile website. `(e.g. Libguides, Books, Articles, Course Reserves, Databases, etc.)

A search box is starting to appear on a mobile website homepage.

Additional features are being added to the mobile site such as an library account transaction (e.g. item renewal) and course reserves.

Study room reservation, computer availability information are offered in some mobile sites.

Looking back at some of the tips 2 years ago …

Environmental scan - OK Target audience - YES

Primary tasks & user needs /expectations Marketing

No longer true Mobile devices’ constraints and slow networks Focus on users’ information needs on the go A companion site with less features and

content

Which is faster and more convenient?

Always on, always with you

Are our assumptionsabout mobile user behavior accurate?

Source: http://blog.compete.com/2010/03/12/smartphone-owners-a-ready-and-willing-audience/

84%

80%

74%

69%

64%

62%

47%

User Behavior on the Mobile

Motivation: Micro-task, Bored, LocalSource: Josh Clark, Tapworthy (2010) Ch. 2.

Edit/Create (urgent change/micro-tasking): I need to get some-thing done now that can’t wait.

Lookup/Find (urgent info, local): I need an answer to some-thing now - frequently related to my current location in the world.

Explore/Play (bored, local): I have some time to kill and just want a few idle time distractions.

Check In/Status (repeat/micro-tasking): Something important to me keeps changing or updating and I want to stay on top of it.

Source: Luke Wroblewski, Mobile First (2011) p.50.

Don’t dumb things down on the mobile

“There are, of course, differences based on mobile and

desktop usage patterns; but the core value of a web

service remains the same across both formats and

beyond. In fact, you’ll quickly find your customers

will expect to do just about everything (within

reason) on mobile. Especially those who primarily (or

only) use their mobiles to get online. So don’t dumb

things down on mobile—focus on what really matters

most anywhere people can access your website.

Source: Luke Wroblewski, Mobile First (2011) p.22.

Do-It-Yourself on Mobile

http://www.flickr.com/photos/marielamuse/7341089880/

Towards a full-feature library mobile website

DIY Mindset of today’s library users Let them serve themselves on the mobile device! “You’re pretty good at helping me, thanks,

but I’d really prefer to do more things by myself— and by the way, you don’t make that very easy for me.”

- Matthews, Brian. 2011. “Helping patrons help themselves,” Chronicle of Higher Education Blog Network. http://chronicle.com/blognetwork/theubiquitouslibrarian/2011/10/13/are-we-in-the-diy-era-helping-patrons-help-themselves/

Are we ready?

Jay Ramirez, “Five Reasons Marketers Should Think Mobile First. 2012. http://www.moroch.com/blog/2012/03/five-reasons-marketers-should-think-mobile-first/

> People look at their smartphones an average of 150 times a day. That’s approximately once every six minutes during waking hours. > Mobile internet is the only internet for 25% of U.S. users.

References Aaron Tay, “What are mobile friendly library sites

offering? A survey.” Musings about Librarianship, 2010.http://musingsaboutlibrarianship.blogspot.com/2010/04/comparison-of-40-mobile-library-sites.html

“M-Libraries.” LibSuccess Wiki, 2012. http://www.libsuccess.org/index.php?title=M-Libraries

Josh Clark, Tapworthy: Designing Great iPhone Apps. O’Reilly, 2010.

Luke Wroblewski, Mobile First. A Book Apart, 2011. Jay Ramirez, “Five Reasons Marketers Should Think

Mobile First. 2012. http://www.moroch.com/blog/2012/03/five-reasons-marketers-should-think-mobile-first/

See other references on slides.