Mobile Enhanced Access to Archives and Special Collections

Mobile Enhanced Access to Archives and Special Collections

Tito SierraJason Casden

NCSU Libraries

Outline

• The Mobile Opportunity• Case Studies at NC State University• WolfWalk• Mobile Exhibits

• Planning a Mobile Initiative• Future Directions

The Mobile Opportunity

http://pewinternet.com/Reports/2011/Smartphones.aspx

“In its first standalone measure of smartphone ownership, the Pew Internet Project finds that one third of American adults – 35% – own smartphones.”

— Aaron Smith, Smartphone Adoption and UsagePew Internet & American Life Project




http://wp.nmc.org/horizon2011

http://wp.nmc.org/horizon2011

“As more people choose to reach for a mobile rather than sitting at a desk to access the Internet, our views and behaviors about that access are shifting.”

— The Horizon Report 2011 EditionThe New Media Consortium and the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative

“The sheer power of these devices is what makes them interesting, and that power derives from their ubiquity, their portability, the wide range of things that can be done with them, and their ability to access the Internet nearly anywhere.”

— The Horizon Report 2011 EditionThe New Media Consortium and the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative

Why Mobile for Libraries?

Mobile technology enables new forms of interaction that can enhance the user experience with library services and

collections.

“MobiLIB” at NCSU (2007)

NCSU Libraries Mobile (2010)

1. Locations & Hours2. Computer Availability3. Search

• Catalog• Summon

4. Ask Us5. Room Reservations6. GroupFinder7. News & Events8. Webcams9. WolfWalk10. Reserves

Albums from UA023.005 Campus Views and Facilities Sub-Group, NCSU Special Collections Research Center

NCSU Libraries Special Collections Research Center Gallery

Case Studies at NCSU

WolfWalk

WolfWalk Concept

Provide a user-friendly way for people to learn about the

history of NC State, while exploring campus.

Jason Casden, lead developer for WolfWalk, at the NCSU Memorial Tower

Jason Casden, lead developer for WolfWalk, at the NCSU Memorial Tower

WolfWalk 1.0

• Released March 2010• Location-aware• Two flavors• Mobile web app• iPhone App

WolfWalk 1.1

• Released June 10, 2011• 3 flavors• Web App• iPhone/iPod Touch• iPad

Mobile Exhibits

Mobile Exhibits Concept

Augment the exhibit user experience by integrating

additional content from the archives.



Untitled Image Layout

QR Code connecting users to the 4-H Mobile Supplement

QR Codes

Image source: Flickr user inju

4-H & NC State

• Released Jan 2011• Mobile website only• QR code integration

Planning a Mobile Initiative

Basic Questions

What makes your app mobile?

Content Curation

Designing for a mobile optimized experience often involves additional

content curation. Do not assume you can just reuse what you already have!

Photograph from the NCSU Libraries University Archives Photograph Collection (c. 1910)

Historical State

Title: President D. H. Hill and staff, North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts.

Subjects: College presidents; Hill, D. H. (Daniel Harvey), 1859-1924; North Carolina State University; People; Teachers

Site: [D. H. Hill Library (Raleigh, N.C.)]

Description: [D. H. Hill Library is named for Daniel Harvey Hill (1859-1924), an English professor at North Carolina State University and one of the college’s first five faculty members. He was president of the University from 1908-1916. The Library was built in four stages, the east wing first in 1953, the Erdahl-Cloyd Student Union or west wing second in 1954, the old book stack tower third in 1971, and the new book stack tower fourth in 1990. In 2007, a major renovation of the east wing of the library was completed. D. H. Hill Library is the main library of the NCSU Libraries system, which is composed of five library facilities.]

WolfWalk

Title: D.H. Hill (with pocket watch) and NC State staff

Site: DH Hill Library

Description: After the first library, located in Brooks Hall, became too small, a new D.H. Hill Library was built in 1953. It was expanded in 1954 and towers were added in 1972 (Bookstack North) and 1990 (Bookstack South). Its namesake, D.H. Hill, was appointed professor of English and bookkeeping in 1889 and became one of the university's first five faculty members. He selected most of the library's books and served as the university's vice president from 1905 to 1908 and president from 1908 to 1916.

Implementation Choices

Do you build a platform specific “native app” (e.g., iPhone App, Android App), a

mobile website that works across a range of devices, or both?

Native Apps

• App store visibility / can charge for it• Access to hardware• Graphics, cameras, offline access

But…• Development environment (Objective-C)• Developer license• Updates require user updates

Mobile Web Apps

• Cross platform• Less specialized development• Release can be as easy as a web page

But….• Network reliance• Fewer hardware features• Cross browser/platform testing

jQuery Mobile

• Touch optimized interface widgets at low cost

• Cross platform support• Familiar HTML /

JavaScript development

Practical Considerations

How robust is the wireless connection on your campus?

In your exhibit space?

Practical Considerations

How do you deliver high-quality media (images/audio/video) without

compromising the user experience?

Geotagging Issues

How do you geotag very large digital collections in a scalable way?

How does geotagging fit into existing digitization workflows, if at all?

Expect the Unexpected

• iOS Developer License issue• App Store market advantage• Campus network issues• QR code exhibit design integration

The Future is Bright

We've only scratched the surface of what is already possible technologically, let alone what will be possible in the next

year or two.

Future Directions

Interactive Exhibits

http://www.qrator.org/about-the-project/

Interactive Exhibits

http://www.qrator.org/ipads/

“I'm interested in history, as I'm walking down the street in San Francisco I want my mobile device to tell me about the history here, think of it as a serendipity engine.”

— Eric Schmidt, former Google CEO, September 2010http://rww.to/n8QMqN

Hyperlocal History

http://www.historypin.com/tours/

Hyperlocal History

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.historypin.Historypin

Location Aware Audio

http://vimeo.com/24250620http://bluebrainmusic.blogspot.com

Location Aware Audio

• Interpretive tour audio content• Oral histories and interviews• Recorded music (time period, genre)• Field recordings and soundscapes

Learn by Doing

“You have to poke your finger at everything that is coming out to actually understand it. It goes back again to how you do things. If you are nimble, you should be able to test everything quickly and cheaply... That's where you need to be.”

— Gus Balbontin, Lonely Planethttp://oreil.ly/qmtbhQ

Thanks!

More information:http://go.ncsu.edu/mlibprojects

Slides download:http://slidesha.re/r9H6j7

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License

Education

Mobile Enhanced Access to Archives and Special Collections