Mobile technologies and libraries (Tech Set no.2)

摘要

The mobile phone has become ubiquitous in today's world and Mobile Technologies and Libraries aims to help librarians and libraries ol all types step into the world of mobile interaction by offering practical advice and ideas on how they can make the plunge. It will tell you how to plan, implement, market, and measure the success of a mobile technology plan in your library, as well providing some tips on best practice. The book is also supported by a wiki http://tec.hset. wetpaint.com /page/ Mobi lc +Technologies + and + Lib raries-+Jason+Grifley. This book provides an excellent overview and insights into mobile technology and how libraries can take advantage of it. Chapters 1-3 cover such mobile phone technologies and ideas as: Apps, Mobile Database Access, Mobile Library Web Site and OPAC, Portable Instructional Resources, Mobile Library Tour, Mobile Collections, and SMS Services. Griffey's ideas for promoting new mobile services, presented in Chapter 4, are both simple and practical. Chapters 5 and 6 provide best practices and excellent tips on measuring the success of a mobile service; these are very practical in nature and are well worth reading. The major drawback of this book though is its US locus, especially when discussing popular mobile phones and carriers. This section is only illuminating to the non-US reader in that provides some trends in popular mobile phone brands. Most of the examples of libraries are also US-based, though in the conclusion Griffey touches on mobile phone technology in Japan and gives an excellent insight into where he sees mobile phone technology will be in the next live to ten years the general message of which is that we will need to be where our users are instead of expecting them to come to us.