1. Evaluating
Mobile Options
for Your Library

2. What
Content
will you include?

3. How will you
Deliver
information?

4. Consider
Your Library

5. Academic

6. Public

7. School

8. Business

9. Who are your library users?
What are their needs?
Which devices do they use?

10. Ask

11. Observe

12. Survey

13. Listen

14. Review
Web Analytics

15. Examine
Trends

16. Most Popular Library Mobile-Friendly Content
1. Contact Information
2. Hours of Operation
3. Directions
4. Catalog Search
5. Library News
6. Loan Information
7. Links to Mobile Resources
8. Ability to Check Computer Availability
9. Booking Meeting Rooms
10. Links to Mobile Search Engines
Krishnan,
2010

17. Inventory
Resources

18. Skills

19. Funding

20. People

21. Understand the
Mobile Web

22. Mobile Stylesheet

23. Mobile Website

24. Mobile App

25. Stylesheet

26. Applies
appropriate
style rules
for
mobile users

29. Meta Tag
<meta name="viewport” content="width=device-width" />!
CSS Media Query
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css”!
media=“only screen and (max-width: 500px)” !
href=“http://www.mywebsite.com/css/mobile.css" /> !

30. Stylesheet Pros
Flexible
Simple
Low-Maintenance

31. Stylesheet Cons
No Optimization
Slowness (on certain devices)

32. Website

33. Directs
mobile users
to
scaled-down
website.

37. JavaScript Re-Direct
<script type="text/javascript"> !
var UA = navigator.userAgent;!
var mobile = /android|avantgo|blackberry|blazer|compal|
elaine|fennec|hiptop|iemobile|ip(hone|od)|iris|kindle|lge
|maemo|midp|mmp|opera m(ob|in)i|palm( os)?|phone|p(ixi|
re)/|plucker|pocket|psp|symbian|treo|up.(browser|link)|
vodafone|wap|windows (ce|phone)|xda|xiino/i.test(UA);!
!
if (mobile) { !
document.location = “mobile.html”;!
!
else {!
document.location = “index.html”;!
}!
</script> !

38. Link to Full Site
http://www.mylibrary.com/?
redirect=0!

39. Website Pros
Performance
Customized for mobile users

40. Website Cons
Separately Maintained
Resources

41. Native App

42. Mobile users
download
platform-specific
app

45. Buy
vs
Build

46. Vendors
vs
Technologies

47. Native App Pros
Native Controls
Familiar
Specialized Functionality

48. Native App Cons
Development/Cost
Maintenance
Patron-Download

49. Decide on…
Content
&
Delivery

50. By Examining…
Your Library
& the
Mobile Web

51. Thank You!
Amy Deschenes
Beatley Library, Simmons College, Boston, MA
deschene@simmons.edu | @amyhannah

52. Resources
A List Apart, “Return of the Mobile Stylesheet” http://bit.ly/qQ9cKg
“Dive Into HTML5” http://bit.ly/xGnxG0
Global Intelligence, “Native or Web Application?...” http://bit.ly/pZCTHu
Mashable, “5 Things to Consider When Designing Your Mobile Apps.” http://on.mash.to/xaEu6d
Smashing Magazine, “Picking a Mobile Support Strategy for Your Website” http://bit.ly/po8Ub3
Smashing Magazine, “A User-Centered Approach to Web Design for Mobile Devices”
http://bit.ly/zCkbvs
Tools
iWebKit (Stylesheets for Creating Mobile Website) http://bit.ly/xVIxn2
jQuery Mobile (Build Cross-Platform HTML5 Sites) http://bit.ly/AFo46N
“Mobile Web Design” (99 cent e-book on Mobile Design) http://bit.ly/zmGviG
Phone Gap (Open Source framework that supports 7 platforms) http://bit.ly/znYYgW
Sencha Touch (Mobile Web-App Framework) http://bit.ly/x1vidB
User Agent Switching in Safari (Make Your Browser Behave Like a Mobile Browser)
http://bit.ly/xSFxV2
http://tinyurl.com/87huzlt

53. Photo Credits
h-p://www.flickr.com/photos/stevecadman/486247050
h-p://bostonbliss.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/073-­‐boston-­‐public-­‐library-­‐at-­‐copley-­‐square-­‐1.jpg
h-p://www.flickr.com/photos/jcolton/220324869/in/photostream/
h-p://www.flickr.com/photos/75046679@N00/2677784633/
h-p://library.simmons.edu
h-p://library.syr.edu/
h-p://m.library.syr.edu/
h-p://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sccl/id354564987?mt=8
h-p://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cu-­‐library/id354721654?mt=8