Mobile Services: Tech Tools for Tough Times

Anne Behler

Binky Lush

Emily Rimland

The Handheld Project:

Exploring Handheld Devices for Roving Reference

The Situation:

giant library

many floors

many users

many service points

decreasing budget for staffing

Solutions:

Roving Reference with handheld devices

Roving Reference with iPod Touch

The Basic Idea:

Roving staff member equipped with device Able to answer reference questions Able to help patron at point-of-need Potential cost savings

(1 rover instead of many service desks)

Phase I: How did it work?

4 devices chosen for pilot Tested by PSUL faculty, staff, student

employees Testers completed multiple evaluations

Penn State Use Cases

Helping patron find physical item Helping patron find info & emailing it Reference outside of the library Faculty liaison activities Library instruction alongside a student in a

class

Devices Tested:

Sony VAIO UX-490Fujitsu Lifebook Nokia N-810 OQO Model 2

The Results: No clear winner, but Lifebook was closest

Roving model can work but voice communication is important

For some testers, devices too small to be efficient

Learned some other serendipitous things

What We Learned: Critical to collaborate with IT staff

Formalized testing & selection process

Exposed problems with wireless

Web site display and use on handheld

Portability of Lifebook good in other scenarios

White Paper & Report:

Full report (30+ pages) White Paper:

7 Things You Need to Know about Handheld Devices for Reference Services

t inyurl.com/psuhandhelddevices

Budgetary Constraints:

PSU cell phone policy Decreasing tech initiatives budget Cost of supporting multiple devices

Phase II: How did it work?

Testing iPod Touch only

Ongoing testing by faculty, staff and student employees

What we’re testing:

Earbuds with microphone

AIM Chat

Skype (voice)

Fring app (integrates AIM & Skype)

What we learned:

Wireless connectivity biggest barrier

Two-way communication is critical

More testing necessary

The Sony Reader Project:

Exploring E-Book Services on Campus

The Situation

Classrooms:

First-year Honors English Classes

Library Studies First Year Seminar

English Graduate Seminar

Lending & Disability Services

Sony eBook Store Content

A great way to test the technology

User feedback survey

Help for the visually or learning impaired?

Portability for a large library

Sleek, ergonomically friendly device

Easy on the eyes

Uni-function device

Battery life and charging difficulties

Slow page refresh time

Lack of interactive features

Uni-function device

On-demand service too cumbersome to offer

DRM

What does the future hold? Partnerships among educators, librarians,

vendors, and publishers are important

Content, regardless of device

Can’t forget accessibility

Format vs. function challenges

Sony Project:tinyurl.com/psulsony

White Paper:tinyurl.com/psulsony7things

Contact:

Anne Behler – behler@psu.edu

Binky Lush – binky@psu.edu

Emily Rimland – rimland@psu.edu