improving your library's mobile services
TRANSCRIPT
Improving Your Library’s Mobile Services
Sep. 12, 2013ALA TechSource Workshop
Bohyun KimDigital Access Librarian, Florida International University Medical Libraryhttp:/ /bohyunkim.net/blog | @bohyunkim
Today’s Topics
1. The significance of the mobile web2. Mobile consumer behavior3. Developments in libraries’ mobile
websites4. Responsive Web Design5. Building and growing your library’s
mobile presence6. Ask questions on the chat window or
on Twitter (@bohyunkim / #libmobile).
More Smartphones than Feature Phones in Usehttp://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2013/Smartphone-Ownership-2013/Findings.aspx
http://www.pewinternet.org/Trend-Data-%28Adults%29/Device-Ownership.aspx
Text, No Voicemail
Image from Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/40198520@N00/7943106962/
Text, No Voicemail
Leaving a voice mail instead of texting is impolite because it wastes the receiver’s time.
Asking people something that is easily discoverable on the Internet is equally rude because the communication is not only unnecessary but also time-consuming.Nick Bilton, “Disruptions: Digital Era Redefining Etiquette,” Bits (blog),
New York Times, March 10, 2013, http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/10/ etiquette-redefined-in-the-digital-age.
Preoccupied by Smartphone
Image from Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/35075971@N00/3839176730/
Preoccupied by Smartphone An estimated 20 million passengers miss bus
or train stops each year because of "digital distraction" from their smartphone.
The problem has affected 51% of Britons and causes around 15% of commuters to run late for meetings, according to the findings.
Over the last year, passengers have missed their stops an estimated 29 million times.
Mobile Life Report by O2/Samsung (2013), http://news.uk.msn.com/odd-news/smartphones-lead-to-missed-stops-1.
We Spend More Time with our Smartphone than our Partner
While the average British smartphone owner spends 97 minutes a day with their nearest and dearest, they spend 119 minutes – just shy of two hours – on their phones.
Mobile Life Report by O2/Samsung (2013), http://news.o2.co.uk/?press-release=i-cant-talk-dear-im-on-my-phone.
Image from Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/smith/6267342711/
Maslow’s Pyramid with Wi-Fi
Wireless Data Traffic Explosion
Over the five-year period from 2007 to 2011, wireless data traffic on AT&T, the second largest wireless carrier in the United States, has grown 20,000 percent, at least doubling itself every year since 2007.
Chris Velazco, “AT&T’s Wireless Data Traffic Doubles Every Year, but Throttling Is Not the Solution,” TechCrunch, February 14, 2012, http://techcrunch. com/2012/02/14/atts-wireless-data-traffic-doubles- every-year-but-throttling-is-not-the-solution.
More Increase Mobile Data Traffic
Worldwide mobile data traffic will increase 13-fold over the next four years, reaching 11.2 exabytes per month (134 exabytes annually) by 2017.
Cisco Visual Networking Index: Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update, 2012–2017, http://www.cisco.com/en/US/solutions/collateral/ns341/ns525/ns537/ns705/ns827/white_paper_c11-520862.html
Cisco’s Mobile Data Traffic Forecast
Exabyte = 10006 byte
We now spend 37 percent of our Internet time on mobile.
ComScore, 2013 Mobile Future in Focus, white paper (Reston, VA: comscore, February 2013), 12, www.comscore.com/ Insights/presentations_and_Whitepapers/2013/2013_Mobile_Future_in_Focus
Mobile Web vs. Desktop Web
Image from Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/29487767@N02/4053393372/
How We Use Our Smartphones
Mobile Life Report by O2/Samsung (2012)http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/mobile-phones/9365085/Smartphones-hardly-used-for-calls.html.
How long we spend using our smartphones (by activity) each day
Browsing the internet 24 Checking social networks 16 Listening to music 15 Playing games 13 Making calls 13 Text messaging 11 Checking/writing emails 9 Reading books 8 Watching TV/films 7 Taking photographs 3 Total 119 minutes Mobile Life Report by O2/Samsung (2013), http://news.o2.co.uk/?press-release=i-cant-talk-dear-im-on-my-phone.
What we do on the smartphone and the tablet
ComScore, 2013 Mobile Future in Focus, white paper (Reston, VA: comscore, February 2013), 33, www.comscore.com/ Insights/presentations_and_Whitepapers/2013/2013_Mo- bile_Future_in_Focus.
Mobile Device Use at Home According to the interviews and the
survey conducted by Yahoo! and the Nielsen Company in June 2010 , 93 percent of mobile users accessed the Internet on their mobile devices away from home but as many as 89 percent also used their mobile devices to access the Internet inside their home.
Ashmeed Ali, Edwin Wong, Gateley Meeker, andDavid Gill, The Mobile Shopping Framework Study: The Role of Mobile Devices in the Shopping Process, white paper (New York: Nielsen Company, January 2011), 5, www.slideshare.net/ashmeed25/mobile-shopping- frameworkstudy2010whitepaper-final.
Occasions for Mobile Device Use
Danielle Bulger, “smartphone owners: A Ready and Willing Audience,” Compete Pulse blog, March 12, 2010, http://blog.compete.com/2010/03/12/smartphone- owners-a-ready-and-willing-audience
Mobile Consumer Behavior
There’s a persistent myth that mobile users are always distracted, on the go, “info snacking” in sessions of 10 seconds. That’s certainly part of the mobile experience, but not the whole story. Mobile isn’t just “mobile”. It’s also the couch, the kitchen, the three-hour layover, all places where we have time and attention to spare. 42 percent of mobile users say they use it for entertainment when they’re bored. Those aren’t 10-second sessions. That means we shouldn’t design only for stunted sessions or limited use cases. Josh Clark, “Nielsen Is Wrong on Mobile,” .Net Magazine, April 12, 2012,
www.netmagazine.com/ opinions/nielsen-wrong-mobile.
Are Mobile Users in a Rush? People are turning to their smartphones more
to utilize their downtime than to meet some urgent need and that users are not always in a huge rush when they are using their smartphones. (p.11)
People are willing to and actually do turn to their mobile devices for a longer time than just a few minutes and for tasks that can be complicated. (p.12)
Bohyun Kim, The Library Mobile Experience: Practices and User Expectations, Library Technology Report 49(6), ALA TechSource, 2013.
Categories of Mobile Use
Lookup/Find (urgent info, local): I need an answer to something 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.
Edit/Create (urgent change/micro-tasking): I need to get something done now that can’t wait.
Luke Wroblewski, Mobile First (New York: A Book Apart, 2011), p. 50.
Don’t Dumb Things Down on 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.
Wroblewski, Mobile First, 22.
The Significance of the Mobile Web
The mobile Web is no longer an inferior or a complementary means of accessing the Web. It is a competitor to the desktop Web and will soon be accessed by more people than the desktop Web. Considering this situation, offering only a basic set of information and features on the mobile Web is no longer a viable strategy. (p.13)
Bohyun Kim, The Library Mobile Experience: Practices and User Expectations, Library Technology Report 49(6), ALA TechSource, 2013.
On Mobile – Libraries and Patrons
Mobile websites are preferred by libraries over native apps for the reasons of cost and development skills required.
But consumers overwhelmingly prefer native apps over mobile websites.
According to the recent survey and interview results from the Pew Internet and American Life Project, 63 percent of Americans ages 16 and older would use apps-based access to library materials and programs (35 percent “very likely” and 28 percent “somewhat likely”), and 62 percent would use GPS-navigation apps that help them locate material inside library buildings (34 percent “very likely” and 28 percent “somewhat likely”).– Kathryn Zickuhr, Lee Rainie, and Kristen Purcell, Library Services in the Digital Age (Washington, DC: Pew Research Center, January 22, 2013), 57, http://libraries.pewinternet.org/2013/01/22/library-services.
Apps vs. Mobile Websites
Content in a walled garden Easily discovered by a search engine
Access to the device hardware such as GPS, microphone, camera, file system, etc.
In development:- File system APIs- Device /media APIs- Audio APIs
Easy payment collection Can be cumbersome or not supported
Continual updates / Separate installation
No need for installation or updates
Can function without Internet connection
Requires Internet connection
Faster Slower(Mobile Data Speed is improving)
Libraries’ Mobile Websites
NCsU Libraries’ mobile website MobiLIB in 2007 [Image credit: Markus Wust, “MobiLIB: A Library service for
Generation ‘Mo bile’ at North Carolina state University” (presented at the RUsA MARs Hot Topics Discussion Group at
Ameri- can Library Association An- nual Meeting, Washington, DC, June 23, 2007), www. lib.ncsu.edu/documents/dli/
projects/mobilib/presenta- tion_ALA.ppt]
Images from Aaron Tay’, “What Are Mobile Friendly Library sites offering? A survey, April 24, 2010,
http://musingsaboutlibrarianship.blogspot.com/2010/04/comparison-of-40-mobile-library-sites. html.
Comparison – 2010, 2012, 2013
http://www.csupomona. edu/~library/m/
Support for Research
Comparison – 2007, 2012, 2013
http://m.lib.ncsu.edu
NCSU Mobile Website, Current
Comparison – 2010, 2012, 2013
https://www.lib.umn.edu/mobile
Search Box on the Mobile Homepage
http://sherman.library.nova.edu/m/
Comparison – 2010, 2012, 2013
More Search Boxes
And more
Trends in Libraries’ Mobile Website
More information and resources beyond hours and contact info
Research section Article Search Course Reserves
Catalog Search Box on the mobile website homepage
Mobile-appropriate (for 2013) features Study rooms, computers, account
management
Kent State University Libraries2009 Focus Group
“Participants’ interest in conducting research using their mobile device was certainly a surprise. Our assumption was that basic library information would suffice on a mobile Web site; however, the students who participated in this study wanted to be able to interact with library resources on their mobile devices.”
Jamie Seeholzer and Joseph A. Salem, “Library on the Go: A Focus Group Study of the Mobile Web
and the Academic Library,” College & Research Libraries 72, no. 1 (2011), 17
Students’ Wishlist in 2009 Being able to search the library catalog on the mobile device. Request or place an item on hold from their phone. Customizable options and personalized information from the
library regarding their library account and other services such as: Contacted by text messaging when a requested library item was
available for pickup or when a material was nearing its due date. Text message reminders about upcoming library appointments.
Being able to customize their mobile web experience such as: Being able to pick their favorite databases or choose their own top
ten links to see on a mobile Website A library building guide and an explanation of the call number
system. Text or have a live chat with a librarian about a research
question or how to cite a source.Jamie Seeholzer and Joseph A. Salem, “Library on the Go: A Focus Group Study of the Mobile Web
and the Academic Library,” College & Research Libraries 72, no. 1 (2011), 15-19.
What would be mobile-appropriate in 2016? MIT Libraries’ 2011 Survey
Heather Denny, “survey snapshot: Library Research Using Mobile Devices,” MIT Libraries News,
December 3, 2012, http://libraries.mit.edu/sites/news/survey- snapshot-library/9911
Improve Your Library’s Mobile Website Step-By-Step
Create a Mobile Website Mobilize Your Library Catalog Put the Catalog Search Box on Your
Library’s Mobile Website Homepage Add More Mobile-Friendly Library
Resources and Content Offer Library Account Management
Feature Other experiments
Responsive Web Design (RWD)
What is it? How is it used in libraries? Pros and Cons Resources and Tools
This is Not RWD
RWD in Libraries
RWD in Librarieswww.library.nd.edu
RWD in Libraries
www.saclibrary.org
See more examples in
Eric Rumsey, “Responsive
Design Sites:
Higher Ed, Libraries,
Notables,” Seeing the
Picture (blog), May 3,
2012, http://blog.
lib.uiowa.edu/hardinmd/2
012/05/03/ responsive-
design-sites-higher-ed-
libraries-notables.
Responsive Library Catalog
http://onesearch.library.utoronto.ca/
Definition - RWD
The term, “responsive web design,” has become popular from the article that a web designer and developer Ethan Marcottee wrote in 2010.
The goal of responsive web design is to make a web page look equally well regardless of the screen size of a device.
Ethan Marcotte, “Responsive Web Design,” A List Apart, May 25, 2010, http://alistapart.com/article/responsive-web-design.
What Makes RWD Responsive? A flexible, grid-based layout Flexible images Media queries
Comparison
Common Problem 1
An extremely long page filled with too many navigation items,links, and more links.
Str
eam
lin
e c
on
ten
t
Common problem 2
Responsive sites usually do not give users an option to go back to the look of the full desktop website.
For those who are familiar with the existing library website and know exactly where to go and get the information they want, the automatic change in the website layout on a small-screen device can be disorienting and confusing.
Opt-Out Option
Provide an option for mobile device users to opt out of responsive design by removing or changing the viewport meta tag. A demo page for one of the solutions is found at : http://creativeandcode.com/demos/responsive-view-full-site/.
“Should Users Be Forced into a Responsive Design (without the Ability to Opt Out)?,” Stack Exchange - UX, May 1, 2012, http://ux.stackexchange.com/questions/20824/should-users-be-forced-into-a-responsive-design-without-the-ability-to-opt-out .
Chris Coyier, “Opt-Out Responsive Design?,” CSS-Tricks, September 12, 2012, http://css-tricks.com/user-opt-out-responsive-design/ .
Common Problem 3
Brad Frost, “Separate Mobile Website Vs. Responsive Website,” Smashing Magazine, August 22, 2012, http://mobile.smashingmagazine.com/2012/08/22/separate-mobile-responsive-website-presidential-smackdown/.
Make the Site Light and Fast
Example: A typical page on Romney’s mobile website was about 687 KB and loaded in about 8.75 seconds.
By contrast, the size of a typical page on Obama’s responsive website was about 4.2 MB and took whopping 25 seconds to load.
Brad Frost, “Separate Mobile Website Vs. Responsive Website,” Smashing Magazine, August 22, 2012, http://mobile.smashingmagazine.com/2012/08/22/separate-mobile-responsive-website-presidential-smackdown/.
Performance savings in mobile sites
Web performance researcher Guy Podjarny reported that his performance test on 347 responsive websites showed that as many as 86 percent of them had little to no performance savings when loaded in the smallest window compared to the largest one, thereby making the page load painfully slow.
Guy Podjarny, “Performance Implications of Responsive Design – Book Contribution,” Guy’s Pod, July 11, 2012, http://www.guypo.com/mobile/performance-implications-of-responsive-design-book-contribution/.
RWD Resources and Tools WordPress Responsive theme
http://themeid.com/demo/responsive Bootstrap
http://twitter.github.io/bootstrap JQuery Mobile
http://jquerymobile.com The Responsinator
http://responsinator.com
Ethan Marcotte, “Responsive Web Design,” A List Apart, May 25, 2010, http://alistapart.com/article/ responsive-web-design.
Matthew Reidsma, “Responsive Web Design for Libraries: Beyond the Mobile Web,” in Mobile Library Services: Best Practices, ed. Charles Harmon and Mi- chael Messina (Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2013), 79–94.
Library’s Presence on Mobile - Make It Stand Out
Mobile e-readers and tablets E-books/audiobooks downloadable to a
mobile device Mobile devices for check-out
(e.g. Flip camera, iPod touch, laptop, etc.) Mobile resources
(Part of your library collection) Mobile services and communication
(e.g. Facebook, SMS reference, etc.) Mobile website
Auto redire
ct
http://libguides.calpoly.edu/mobile/1192
Notify
?
Put Mobile-Friendly Content Forward
Simple to Use & Rich in Content
Promote Mobile in Physical Space
Florida International University Green Library.Images from Bohyun Kim, “Making Library e-Books on the e-Book Reader Visible,” ACRL TechConnect Blog, http://acrl.ala.org/techconnect/?p=498
Talk ‘about,’ not ‘to’ your patrons
Consumers are Device-Agnostic
http://www.mckinsey.com/Insights/Telecommunications/Developing_a_fine-grained_look_at_how_digital_consumers_behave
Ubiquitous Screens
http://trendwatching.com/trends/12trends2012/?screenculture
Library First, Mobile Second
NYPL Photo Booth Project - http://www.nypl.org/blog/2013/08/12/snapshots-nypl
Keep It Simple?
Don’t Dumb Things Down?
OR
Keep It Simple?
Don’t Dumb Things Down?
Simple to Use &
Rich in Content/Features&
Attractive Enough to Appeal to Patrons
Questions?
Image from Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/37307410@N02/7305895166/