If you are like the millions of people buying the latest smartphone, iPhone 5, or Samsung Galaxy S III, your local library should have something to offer you. The Emma S. Clark Memorial Library, for one, has an app for that! Dubbed "Emma Mobile," the library's application works with iOS (Apple), Android (Google), and Amazon Kindle Fire…

This article covers the basic principles of responsive web design for those interested in creating their own responsive sites from scratch, as well as noting a few frameworks that can be used to speed up development time. The author favors the Foundation CSS framework for responsive development because of its syntax, diverse selection of…

The overwhelming results were iPhones and Android devices. Since the library wasn't equipped technologically to develop an in-house application platform and because we wanted the content to work across all mobile platforms, we decided to focus on creating a mobile web-based platform. From the NLM page of mobile sites we chose the basic PubMed/…

With the advent of mobile phones--and smartphones in particular--people are slowly moving away from the notion that mobile phones are just for making calls and texting. This coupled with the fact that the uptake of mobile phones hit the 5 billion mark in 2010 has spurred many libraries to offer services that can be used by their patrons on these…

The author, a digital access architect in the information systems department of the Orange County Library System in Florida, was given the challenge of creating a library mobile app around the 2009 holiday season. At that time, Sheri Chambers, digital content manager in the information systems department, and Debbie Moss, assistant director of the…

The 2009 "Horizon Report" called mobile technologies "an opportunity for higher education to reach its constituents in new and compelling ways." The report implied that academic libraries would find them to be the ideal tools for bringing reluctant researchers to the library, mainly for their convenience. It's not hard to see why--in 2008, mobile…

In the summer of 2010, Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam started offering the world's first library in an airport. This article describes Airport Library which is no ordinary library. It holds more than 1,200 items, but it lends nothing. It operates 24/7, yet it's only staffed by volunteers for 2 or 3 hours a day. It offers just nine public-access…

For many Digital Natives, text messaging or SMS is the communication channel of choice, but preferences in communication channels aren't the only distinguishing traits of Digital Natives. Attitudes and perceptions related to digital privacy, identity, creativity, piracy, and advocacy also help to set younger generations apart. So how does one take…

The foundation of the mighty Google Empire rests upon an algorithm that connects people to information--things such as websites, maps, and restaurant reviews. Lately it seems that people are less interested in connecting with information than they are with connecting to one another, which begs the question, "Is Facebook the new Google?" Given this…

For many people, the word "twitter" brings to mind birds rather than humans. But information professionals know that Twitter (www.twitter.com) is a fast-growing, free messaging service for people, and it's one that libraries (and librarians) can make good use of--without spending much time or effort. This article discusses the many potential uses…

Since the turn of the century, one of the hottest topics in the IT world has been the coming mobile revolution. While there's been some arguing over the details, the fundamental tenet of the mobile revolution is that lots and lots of people will start accessing web content from handheld portable devices instead of using a traditional laptop or…

Regardless of whether cell phones remain the dominant platform or Wi-Fi becomes the prevalent platform, there are some things that libraries can do to improve patron service in light of evolving expectations, behaviors, and tools. People today are more nomadic, which leads to the very real possibility of having to deliver content not just to the…

Wireless hotspots are popping up in local coffee shops everywhere. Anyone with a wireless-ready laptop or PDA can surf the Internet at one of these hotspots. The same is now true for all 32 branches of the Orange County Public Library (OCPL) in California. Though many public library systems are moving toward wireless access, most require patrons…

Many libraries are or soon will be offering Wi-Fi, also known as wireless networks. The largest perceived barriers to providing this service are concerns about security. The prime rule when deploying Wi-Fi is segregation, having a clear separation between a public wireless network and the rest of the library?s network. A number of devices can be…

Fans of mobile devices are everywhere, and they are using their PDAs, smart phones, and mobile phones to access Web-based content. Chances are that they are trying to access your library's Web site or find library-based content for their devices. In this article, the author presents some tips on how to serve those who wants to grab some fast info…