Library Mobile App Development

Research

Library Mobile App Development

Current conditions and strategic choices

Bruce WashburnSoftware EngineerOCLC Research

TAI CHI Webinar SeriesTechnical Advances for Innovation in Cultural Heritage Institutions

Research Mobile DevelopmentTAI CHI Webinar Series, 29 April 2010

2

There’s something happening here …

Pandora Radio


3

Overview

• “library”, “mobile”, and “app” – some definitions

• The landscape

• Native vs. Web apps

• The Hype Cycle

• Some suggestions


4

Defining “library”

• The library catalog

• Library services in general

• The institution providing the library

• Links from the wider world


5

The Library Catalog

• A scaled-down version of the full search interface

• Search result details are also limited

• Some indicate if titles are available

• Some provide a way to request an item


6

The Library Catalog


7

Library Services

• For mobile users, the catalog is not the only service of interest

• Library hours, reserving a room or computer, checking out materials, paying fines, reading e-resources


8

Library Services

Santa Clara County Library


9

The institution providing the library

• Promotion can work well for an institution-focused app, including library services

• A one stop shopping advantage• Other app features provide

gravitational pull

DukeMobile


10

Links from the wider world

• Libraries surface in shopping apps

• A way for the library to be seen in the flow of popular apps, without the user having to focus first on the institution or library

RedLaser


11

Links from the wider world

Pic2Shop CompareEverywhere Book Bazaar


12

Defining “mobile”

• A medium, a concept, devices, networks• Blurring distinctions between feature phones and

smartphones• The past: slow networks, constrained data entry,

small screens• The future: fast networks, bigger screens,

improved keyboard input, voice recognition• Maybe it means “ubiquitous”, or “always with

me”


13

Smartphones are still outnumbered

http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1306513

2009 Phone Sales

iPhones Other SmartPhones Other Mobile Phones0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1000

Devices Sold

Devi

ces s

old

(M)

• iPhones: 25 million

• Other Smartphones: 148 million

• All Mobile Phones: 1 billion



14

http://blog.quantcast.com/quantcast/2010/03/mobile-os-share.html

http://blog.quantcast.com/quantcast/2010/03/mobile-os-share.html


15

Smartphones and web browsing

http://metrics.admob.com/2010/03/february-2010-mobile-metrics-report/

http://metrics.admob.com/2010/03/february-2010-mobile-metrics-report/


16

Defining “apps”

• Convenient shorthand, or horrendous jargon, depending on your point of view

• An application• Might be a “native” program for a specific device• Might be a website that is designed with mobile

devices in mind• Might be a widget, or an embedded feature in

someone else’s application


17

Mobile Apps for Library Services

• Some libraries have a mobile web interface• A few libraries have developed native apps• Many library websites are not mobile-friendly


18

Mobile Web Apps

• Content is served by a website• XHTML optimized for mobile• Widely accessible• Optimizations vary a lot• May not be accepted by some mobile

marketplaces, e.g., the iTunes App Store• Some mobile device features unavailable (Geo-

location, local data storage, camera, inter-operability with other native apps)


19

Library mobile web apps

New York Public Library Univ. of Virginia Library Victoria University


20

Mobile Native Apps

• Written for a mobile operating system, e.g., iPhone, Android, Palm, etc.

• Significant effort to support all mobile devices• Mobile developer communities are growing• Device features (camera, microphone, speaker,

GPS) are all available• HTML5 technologies may push the pendulum

back to web apps, for capable mobile browsers


21

Library mobile native apps

New LIS Books DC Public Library DukeMobile


22

Strategic Choices

• Access to a catalog or something else?• Native or web app?• One device or several?• App code built, bought, or borrowed?• How much to invest?


23

Native vs. Web

• Strong advocates of both• Easy to get absorbed in the arguments• As with most things in life, when determining

which path to choose, the choice comes down to “it depends”


24

Developing apps for one device

Sometimes it makes good sense:• You require a feature that only that device

supports• The device’s market is big enough, for you• You know all of your app users have the device• You’re experimenting


25

WorldCat Mobile Pilot library mobile apps


26

The Gartner Hype Cycle

• Represents the maturity and adoption of various technologies

• Term coined by Gartner, Inc.• Five Phases, from trigger to productivity


27

Gartner Research: Hype Cycle

http://blogs.reuters.com/commentaries/2009/08/11/twitter-backlash-foretold/

http://blogs.reuters.com/commentaries/2009/08/11/twitter-backlash-foretold/


28


Gartner Research: Hype Cycle of Emerging Technologies, July 2009



29

Library Mobile App Hype Cycle – Where are we?


30

Expectation, then disappointment

“ … it is tempting to wish that this cycle of expectation and disappointment could be avoided. In fact, the cycle is an essential part of the innovation process. It is a collective measure of our goals, and the distance that must be traversed in order to realize them.”

Saffo, Paul. “’Revolution’ the Hype Word of Computer Industry Advances." InfoWorld 4 Feb. 1991: 60. Print.


31

iPhone Apps and the Long Tail

“The average iPhone or iPod Touch owner uses 5 to 10 apps regularly, according to Flurry, a research firm that studies mobile trends. This despite the surfeit of available apps: some 140,000 and counting.”

Hafner, Katie. "When Phones Are Just Too Smart." The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 29 Jan. 2010. Web. 24 Feb. 2010.. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/31/fashion/31apps.html.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/31/fashion/31apps.html


32

iPhone Apps and the Long Tail


33

What counts as success?

• More use, not just the same use on a different device

• Fewer clicks per transaction• New uses• Moving library services into the flow


34

Promotion, Use, and Buzz

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZAbB1kJ-HU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZAbB1kJ-HU


35

Some suggestions

• Mobile devices are reaching your content. Make that work.

• Work with, and improve, existing library mobile applications.

• Don’t disenfranchise users of mobile devices that tend not to browse the web.

• Study user needs, study results of use, and refactor accordingly.

• Report your study results to the library community.


36

What Makes a Great App?

Pandora Radio


37

Resources noted

In PrintFenn, Jackie, and Mark Raskino. Mastering the Hype Cycle: How to Choose the Right

Innovation at the Right Time. Boston, Mass: Harvard Business Press, 2008.http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/213312226

Fling, Brian. Mobile Design and Development. Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly Media, 2009. http://www.worldcat.org/title/mobile-design-and-development/oclc/318413920

Mobile Strategyhttp://m-strat.org/

Griffey, Jason. Mobile Technology and Libraries. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, 2010.

http://www.worldcat.org/title/mobile-technology-and-libraries/oclc/498135636

Mobile Usabilityhttp://www.useit.com/alertbox/mobile-usability.html

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/213312226

http://www.worldcat.org/title/mobile-design-and-development/oclc/318413920

http://m-strat.org/

http://www.worldcat.org/title/mobile-technology-and-libraries/oclc/498135636

http://www.useit.com/alertbox/mobile-usability.html


38

Resources noted

AppsBook Bazaarhttp://itunes.apple.com/us/app/book-bazaar/id309067586

CompareEverywhereVisit the Android Market on an Android device

DC Public Libraryhttp://itunes.apple.com/app/dcpl/id301077850

DukeMobilehttp://itunes.apple.com/app/dukemobile/id306796270http://m.duke.edu

iStanfordhttp://itunes.apple.com/us/app/istanford/id292922029

Nashville Public Libraryhttp://waldo.library.nashville.org/airpac/jsp/airpacIndex.jsp

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/book-bazaar/id309067586

http://itunes.apple.com/app/dcpl/id301077850

http://itunes.apple.com/app/dukemobile/id306796270

http://m.duke.edu/

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/istanford/id292922029

http://waldo.library.nashville.org/airpac/jsp/airpacIndex.jsp


39

Resources noted

Apps, continued

NCSU Libraries MobiLIBhttp://www.lib.ncsu.edu/m

New LIS Bookshttp://itunes.apple.com/us/app/new-lis-books/id352102769

New York Public Library Mobilehttp://m.nypl.org/

Pandora Radio http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pandora-radio/id284035177

Pic2shophttp://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pic2shop/id308740640

RedLaserhttp://itunes.apple.com/app/redlaser/id312720263

Santa Clara County Libraryhttp://sccl.boopsie.com

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

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/new-lis-books/id352102769

http://m.nypl.org/

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pandora-radio/id284035177

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pic2shop/id308740640

http://itunes.apple.com/app/redlaser/id312720263

http://sccl.boopsie.com/


40

Resources noted

Apps, continued

UNC Library Mobilehttp://www.lib.unc.edu/m/

University of Virginia Libraryhttp://m.lib.virginia.edu/

Victoria University Library Mobilehttp://m.library.vu.edu.au/

WorldCat Mobilehttp://www.worldcat.org/wcpa/content/mobile/

http://www.lib.unc.edu/m/

http://m.lib.virginia.edu/

http://m.library.vu.edu.au/

http://www.worldcat.org/wcpa/content/mobile/


41

Resources noted

Development ResourcesAndroid Developershttp://developer.android.com/index.html

DC Public Library Labs iPhone Applicationhttp://dclibrarylabs.org/projects/iphone/

iPhone Dev Centerhttp://developer.apple.com/iphone/index.action

iUI iPhone web app libraryhttp://www.joehewitt.com/blog/introducing_iui.php

MIT Mobile Web source codehttp://sourceforge.net/projects/mitmobileweb/

W3C Mobile Web Best Practiceshttp://www.w3.org/TR/mobile-bp/

http://developer.android.com/index.html

http://dclibrarylabs.org/projects/iphone/

http://developer.apple.com/iphone/index.action

http://www.joehewitt.com/blog/introducing_iui.php

http://sourceforge.net/projects/mitmobileweb/

http://www.w3.org/TR/mobile-bp/


42

Contact

Bruce Washburn

Software Engineer, OCLC Research, San Mateo [email protected]

TAI CHI Webinar Series

http://www.oclc.org/research/events/taichi.htm

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.oclc.org/research/events/taichi.htm

Documents

Library Mobile App Development