Microsoft Word - June_ITAL_Liu_final.docx A  Library  in  the  Palm  of  Your  Hand:   Mobile  Services  in  Top  100  University   Libraries     Yan  Quan  Liu  and     Sarah  Briggs     INFORMATION  TECHNOLOGY  AND  LIBRARIES  |  JUNE  2015             133   ABSTRACT   What  is  the  current  state  of  mobile  services  among  academic  libraries  of  the  country’s  top  100   universities,  and  what  are  the  best  practices  for  librarians  implementing  mobile  services  at  the   university  level?  Through  in-­‐depth  website  visits  and  survey  questionnaires,  the  authors  studied  each   of  the  top  100  universities’  libraries’  experiences  with  mobile  services.  Results  showed  that  all  of  these   libraries  offered  at  least  one  mobile  service,  and  the  majority  offered  multiple  services.  The  most   common  mobile  services  offered  were  mobile  sites,  text  messaging  services,  e-­‐books,  and  mobile   access  to  databases  and  the  catalog.  In  addition,  chat/IM  services,  social  media  accounts  and  apps   were  very  popular.    Survey  responses  also  indicated  a  trend  towards  responsive  design  for  websites  so   that  patrons  can  access  the  library’s  full  site  on  any  mobile  device.  Respondents  recommend  that   libraries  considering  offering  mobile  services  begin  as  soon  as  possible  as  patron  demand  for  these   services  is  expected  to  increase.   INTRODUCTION    Mobile  devices,  such  as  smart  phones,  tablets,  e-­‐book  readers,  handheld  gaming  tools  and   portable  music  players  are  practically  omnipresent  in  today’s  society.  According  to  Walsh  (2012),   “Mobile  data  traffic  in  2011  was  eight  times  the  size  of  the  global  internet  in  2000  and,  according   to  forecasts,  mobile  devices  will  soon  outnumber  human  beings”.1  Studies  have  revealed  that  use   of  mobile  devices  is  widespread  and  continues  to  increase.  As  of  2013,  56%  of  Americans  owned  a   smart  phone  (Smith  2013).  This  number  is  even  higher  among  people  ages  18  to  29.2  However,   Peters  (2011)  points  out  that  mobile  phones  at  least  can  be  found  among  people  of  all  ages,   nationalities  and  socioeconomic  classes.  He  writes,  “We  truly  are  in  the  midst  of  a  global  mobile   revolution.”3  In  2012,  the  ACRL  Research  Planning  and  Review  Committee  found  that  55%  of   undergraduates  have  smart  phones,  62%  have  iPods,  and  21%  have  some  kind  of  tablet.  Over  67%   of  these  students  use  their  devices  academically.4  Elmore  and  Stephens  (2012)  write,  “Academic   libraries  cannot  afford  to  ignore  this  growing  trend.  For  many  students  a  mobile  phone  is  no   longer  just  a  telephonic  device  but  a  handheld  information  retrieval  tool.”5       Yan  Quan  Liu  (liuy1@southernct.edu)  is  Professor  in  Information  and  Library  Science  at   Southern  Connecticut  State  University,  New  Haven,  CT,  and  Special  Hired  Professor  at  Tianjin   University  of  Technology,  Tianjin,  China.  Sarah  Briggs  (sjg.librarian@gmail.com)  is   Library/Media  Specialist  at  Jonathan  Law  High  School,  Milford,  CT.     A  LIBRARY  IN  THE  PALM  OF  YOUR  HAND:  MOBILE  SERVICES  IN  THE  TOP  100  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARIES  |     LIU  AND  BRIGGS  |  doi:  10.6017/ital.v34i2.5650   134   It  is  clear  from  these  studies  that  academic  libraries  can  expect  their  patrons  to  be  accessing  their   services  via  mobile  devices  in  growing  numbers  and  need  to  adapt  to  this  reality.  However,  the   sheer  number  of  mobile  devices  on  the  market  and  the  myriad  ways  libraries  could  offer  mobile   services  can  be  daunting.  Additionally,  offering  mobile  services  requires  investing  time,  money,   and  personnel.  In  order  to  give  libraries  a  starting  point,  this  paper  examines  the  current  status  of   mobile  services  in  the  United  States’  top  100  universities’  libraries  as  a  model,  specifically  what   services  are  being  offered,  what  are  they  being  used  for,  and  what  challenges  libraries  have   encountered  in  offering  mobile  services.  In  doing  so,  this  paper  attempts  to  answer  two  questions:   What  is  the  state  of  mobile  services  among  academic  libraries  of  the  country’s  top  ranked   universities,  and  what  can  the  experiences  of  these  libraries  teach  us  about  best  practices  for   mobile  services  at  the  university  level?     LITERATURE  REVIEW   Current  Status  of  Mobile  Services  in  Academic  Libraries   There  is  not  a  lot  of  data  regarding  the  prevalence  of  mobile  services  in  academic  libraries.  A  2010   study  found  that  35%  of  the  English  speaking  members  of  the  Association  of  Research  Libraries   had  a  mobile  website  for  either  the  university,  the  library,  or  both  (Canuel  and  Crichton  2010).6  A   study  of  Chinese  academic  libraries  revealed  that  only  12.8%  surveyed  had  a  section  of  their  web   pages  devoted  to  mobile  library  service  (Li  2013).7  In  2010,  Canuel  and  Crichton  found  that  13.7%   of  Association  of  Universities  and  Colleges  of  Canada  members  had  some  mobile  services,   including  websites  and  apps.8  In  the  United  States,  a  2010  survey  found  that  44%  of  academic   libraries  offered  some  type  of  mobile  service.  39%  had  a  mobile  website,  and  36%  had  a  mobile   version  of  the  library’s  catalog.  Half  of  libraries  which  did  not  offer  mobile  services  were  in  the   planning  process  for  creating  a  mobile  website,  catalog,  and  text  notifications.  Additionally,  40%   planned  on  implementing  SMS  reference  services,  and  54%  wanted  the  ability  to  access  library   databases  on  mobile  devices  (Thomas  2010).9  However,  it  is  widely  assumed  that  mobile  services   will  expand  rapidly  in  the  future  (Canuel  and  Crichton  2010).10  More  recently,  a  2012  survey  of   academic  libraries  in  the  Pacific  Northwest  found  that  50%  had  a  mobile  version  of  the  library’s   website  and/or  catalog,  40%  used  QR  codes,  38%  had  a  text  messaging  service,  and  18%  replied   “other”  with  mobile  interfaces  for  databases  being  a  popular  offering.  However,  31%  of  survey   respondents  still  did  not  have  any  mobile  services  (Ashford  and  Zeigen  2012).11  Osika  and   Kaufman  (2012)  surveyed  community  and  junior  colleges  nationwide  to  determine  what  mobile   services  were  being  offered.  73%  offered  mobile  catalog  access,  62%  offered  vendor  database   apps,  two  were  creating  a  mobile  app  for  the  library,  and  14.7%  had  a  mobile  library  website.12         Definition  and  Types  of  Mobile  Services   Although  there  are  dozens  of  different  mobile  devices  on  the  market,  La  Counte  (2013)  aptly  and   succinctly  defines  them  as  follows:  “The  reality  is  that  mobile  devices  can  refer  to  essentially  any   device  that  someone  uses  on  the  go”  (vi).13  Smart  phones,  netbooks,  tablet  computers,  e-­‐readers,     INFORMATION  TECHNOLOGIES  AND  LIBRARIES  |  JUNE  2015   135   gaming  devices  and  iPods  are  examples  of  mobile  devices  that  are  now  commonplace  on  college   campuses.  Barnhart  and  Pierce  (2012)  define  these  devices  as  “…networked,  portable,  and   handheld…”14  Additionally,  these  devices  may  be  used  to  read,  listen  to  music,  and  watch  videos   (West,  Hafner  and  Faust  2006).15  According  to  Lippincott  (2008),  libraries  should  consider  all   their  patron  groups  as  potential  mobile  library  users,  including  faculty,  distance  education   students,  on-­‐campus  students,  students  placed  in  internships  or  doing  other  kinds  of  fieldwork,   and  students  using  mobile  devices  to  work  on  collaborative  projects  outside  of  school.16     The  most  common  mobile  services  discussed  in  the  literature  are  mobile-­‐friendly  websites  or  apps,   mobile-­‐friendly  access  to  the  library’s  catalog  and  databases,  text  messaging  services,  QR  codes,   augmented  reality,  e-­‐books,  and  information  literacy  instruction  facilitated  by  mobile  devices.   These  services  fall  into  one  of  two  categories:  traditional  library  services  amended  to  be  available   with  mobile  devices  and  services  created  specifically  for  mobile  devices.     Common  library  services  that  have  been  updated  to  be  mobile-­‐friendly  include  a  mobile  website   (either  as  a  mobile  version  of  the  library’s  regular  site,  an  app,  or  both),  mobile-­‐friendly  interfaces   for  the  library’s  catalog  and  databases,  access  to  books  in  electronic  format,  and  information   literacy  instruction  which  makes  use  of  mobile  devices.  Regarding  mobile  websites  and  apps,   Walsh  (2012)  writes,     “If  a  well-­‐designed  app  is  like  a  top-­‐end  sports  car,  a  mobile  website  is  more  like  a  family  run-­‐ around.  It  may  not  be  as  good  looking,  but  it  is  likely  to  be  cheaper,  easier  to  run  and   accessible  to  more  people.”17     It  is  not  feasible  to  replicate  the  entire  website  in  a  mobile  version,  so  libraries  must  know  what   patrons  find  most  important  and  address  that  information  through  the  mobile  site  (Walsh  2012).18   According  to  a  2012  survey  of  academic  libraries  in  the  Pacific  Northwest,  the  most  popular  types   of  information  found  on  mobile  websites  are  links  to  the  catalog,  a  way  to  contact  a  librarian,  links   to  databases,  and  hours  of  operation  (Ashford  and  Zeigen  2012).19  Many  libraries  are  also   providing  mobile  access  to  their  catalogs  and  databases.  This  is  sometimes  difficult  because  often   third-­‐party  vendors  are  responsible  for  the  catalogs  and/or  databases,  and  libraries  must  rely  on   these  vendors  to  provide  mobile  access  (Iglesias  and  Meesangnil  2011).20  However,  many  vendors   already  offer  mobile-­‐friendly  interfaces;  libraries  must  be  aware  when  this  is  the  case  and  provide   links  to  these  interfaces.  When  a  vendor  does  not  provide  a  mobile-­‐friendly  interface,  the  library   should  encourage  the  vendor  to  do  so  (Bishoff  2013,  p.  118).21     There  is  a  growing  expectation  that  libraries  will  provide  e-­‐books  to  patrons  as  e-­‐books  become   increasingly  popular.  Walsh  (2012)  states  that  the  proportion  of  adults  in  the  United  States  who   own  an  e-­‐book  reader  doubled  between  November  2010  and  May  2011.22  According  to  Bischoff,   Ruth,  and  Rawlins  (2013),  29%  of  Americans  owned  a  tablet  or  e-­‐reader  as  of  January  2012.23  This   has  presented  challenges  for  libraries,  mainly  in  two  areas:  format  and  licensing.  There  is  risk   involved  in  choosing  a  format  that  will  only  work  with  one  product,  i.e.  a  Nook  or  a  Kindle,     A  LIBRARY  IN  THE  PALM  OF  YOUR  HAND:  MOBILE  SERVICES  IN  THE  TOP  100  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARIES  |     LIU  AND  BRIGGS  |  doi:  10.6017/ital.v34i2.5650   136   because  not  every  patron  will  own  the  same  device,  and  ultimately  one  device  might  become  the   most  popular,  rendering  books  purchased  for  other  devices  obsolete.  On  the  other  hand,  formats   that  work  with  multiple  devices  tend  to  have  only  basic  functionality  and  do  not  provide  an  ideal   user  experience  (Walsh  2012).24  Walsh  (2012)  recommends  EPUB,  which  works  well  with  many   different  devices,  is  free,  and  supports  the  addition  of  a  digital  rights  management  layer.25   Licensing  is  also  an  issue  as  libraries  and  publishers  strive  to  find  a  method  of  loaning  e-­‐books   amenable  to  both.  No  one  model  has  emerged  which  is  mutually  satisfactory  (Walsh  2012).26             Libraries  are  increasingly  integrating  mobile  technologies  into  information  literacy  instruction   and  other  forms  of  instruction.  For  example,  services  such  as  Skype  and  FaceTime,  which  Walsh   (2012)  describes  as  “a  window  to  another  world”  (p.  105),  can  be  used  for  distance  learning,   including  reference  and  instruction.27  When  interactions  do  not  need  to  take  place  live,  many   mobile  devices  have  the  capability  to  take  pictures,  record  video,  and  record  audio  (Walsh  2012,  p.   97).28  This  allows  class  events,  including  lectures  and  discussions,  to  be  broadcast  to  people  and   spaces  beyond  the  physical  classroom.  Walsh  (2012)  notes  that,  when  constructing  podcasts  or   vodcasts,  it  is  important  to  make  mobile-­‐friendly  versions  of  these  available,  bearing  in  mind   different  platforms  and  screen  sizes  people  might  be  using  to  access  the  content.29      Text  messaging,  QR  codes,  and  augmented  reality  are  examples  of  library  services  that  were   created  expressly  for  mobile  devices.  Text  messaging  in  particular  has  become  a  very  popular   mobile  service  offering;  as  Thomas  and  Murphy  (2009)  write,  “Interacting  with  patrons  through   text  messaging  now  ranks  among  core  competencies  for  librarians  because  SMS  increasingly   comprises  a  central  channel  for  communicating  library  information.”30  A  common  use  of  text   messaging  is  a  ‘text  a  librarian’  service.  Walsh  (2012)  recommends  launching  such  a  service  even   if  the  library  currently  offers  no  other  mobile  services,  noting,  “It  can  be  quick,  easy  and  cheap  to   introduce  such  a  service  and  it  is  an  ideal  entry  into  the  world  of  providing  services  via  mobile   devices”  (p.  45).31  Peters  (2011)  points  out  that  the  shorter  the  turnaround  time  (he  recommends   less  than  ten  minutes)  the  better.  He  notes  that  many  questions  arise  as  the  result  of  a  situation   the  questioner  is  currently  in.  He  writes,  “If  you  do  not  respond  in  a  matter  of  minutes,  not  hours,   the  context  will  be  lost  and  the  need  will  be  diminished  or  satisfied  in  other  ways.”32   QR  codes  have  become  popular  in  libraries  offering  mobile  services.  QR  codes  encode  information   in  two  dimensions  (vertically  and  horizontally),  and  thus  can  provide  more  information  than  a   barcode.  The  applications  necessary  for  using  QR  codes  are  usually  free,  and  they  can  be  read  by   most  mobile  devices  with  cameras  (Little  2011).33  The  most  common  uses  of  QR  codes  in   academic  libraries,  according  to  Elmore  and  Stephens  (2012),  are  linking  to  the  library’s  mobile   website  and  social  media  pages,  searching  the  library  catalog,  viewing  a  video  or  accessing  a  music   file,  reserving  a  study  room,  and  taking  a  virtual  tour  of  the  library  facilities.34     Augmented  reality  may  not  currently  be  used  as  often  in  libraries  as  other  services  such  as  mobile   sites  and  text  messaging,  but  many  libraries  are  finding  unique  and  compelling  ways  to  use  AR.  AR   applications  link  the  physical  with  the  digital,  are  interactive  in  real  time,  and  are  registered  in  3-­‐D.     INFORMATION  TECHNOLOGIES  AND  LIBRARIES  |  JUNE  2015   137   Hahn  (2012)  defines  AR  as  follows:  “In  order  to  be  considered  a  truly  augmented  reality   application,  an  app  must  interactively  attach  graphics  or  data  to  objects  in  real  time,  to  achieve  the   real  and  virtual  combination  of  graphics  into  the  physical  environment.”35  He  notes  that  such   applications  are  excellent  additions  to  libraries’  mobile  services  because  they  connect  physical  and   digital  worlds,  much  like  libraries.36  One  example  of  augmented  reality  is  North  Carolina  State   University’s  WolfWalk,  which  is  advertised  as  “…a  historical  walking  tour  of  the  NC  State  campus   using  the  location-­‐aware  campus  map”  (NCSU  Libraries).37  To  create  the  tour,  the  NCSU  Libraries   Special  Collections  Research  Center  provided  over  one  thousand  photographs  of  the  campus  from   the  19th  century  to  the  present  (NCSU  Libraries).38     RESEARCH  DESIGN   To  make  sure  the  information  gathered  was  current  and  valid,  this  study  employed  two   approaches,  website  visits  and  survey  investigation,  to  determine  the  state  of  mobile  services  at   the  top  100  universities’  libraries.  The  website  visits  explored  what  mobile  services  are  being   offered  and  how  they  are  being  offered  at  these  university  libraries.  The  survey  sent  via  email   inquired  how  they  are  providing  mobile  services  in  their  libraries  and  what  their  results  have   been  regarding  challenges,  successes,  and  best  practices.  The  survey  data  was  analyzed  and   compared  to  the  data  obtained  via  website  exploration  to  form  a  more  comprehensive  picture  of   mobile  services  at  these  universities.   PARTICIPANTS   University  libraries'  patrons  are  frequent  users  of  mobile  technology.  According  to  Osika  and   Kaufman  (2012),  studies  have  found  that  45%  of  18  to  29-­‐year-­‐olds  who  have  internet-­‐capable   cell  phones  do  most  of  their  browsing  on  their  devices.  39  Kostruski  and  Skornia  (2011)  note  that   people  of  this  age  group  are  “…leaders  in  mobile  communication…the  traditional  college-­‐age   student.”40  As  the  nation’s  leaders  in  undergraduate  and  graduate  programs  and  academic   research,  an  examination  of  the  status  of  the  top  100  university  libraries'  mobile  services  can   provide  useful  service  patterns  and  a  benchmark  for  the  service  improvements  that  would  benefit   academic  programs.  Based  on  the  U.S.  News  &  World  Report's  national  university  rankings,  this   study  selected  the  top  100  universities  in  the  2014  rankings.41     PROCEDURE   Website  visits  as  the  first  step  were  conducted  from  March  2,  2014  to  March  16,  2014.  Each   library’s  home  page  was  carefully  examined  for  the  most  common  mobile  services  named  in  the   literature  with  these  categorized  items:  1)  a  mobile  website  or  app,  2)  mobile  access  to  the   library’s  catalog  and  databases,  3)  text  messaging  services,  4)  QR  codes,  5)  augmented  reality,  and   6)  e-­‐books.  To  assess  each  site,  we  first  visited  the  site  via  a  Nexus  7  to  see  if  it  had  a  mobile   version.  Next,  we  viewed  each  library’s  full  site  on  a  laptop  computer.  We  browsed  through  each   page  of  the  site  looking  for  mention  or  use  of  each  said  categorization.  We  also  searched  for  these     A  LIBRARY  IN  THE  PALM  OF  YOUR  HAND:  MOBILE  SERVICES  IN  THE  TOP  100  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARIES  |     LIU  AND  BRIGGS  |  doi:  10.6017/ital.v34i2.5650   138   items  via  the  library’s  site  map  or  site  search  functions  whenever  available.  The  results  were   tabulated  with  a  codebook  in  the  established  categorization  through  Microsoft  Excel.     Although  the  website  visits  place  great  value  on  gathering  quantitative  data  about  what  mobile   services  are  offered  at  these  libraries,  this  method  has  its  limitations.  Firstly,  it  locates  only  those   mobile  services  that  appear  on  a  library’s  website,  but  services  the  library  provides  which  are  not   mentioned  on  the  website  can  be  overlooked.  Also,  the  use  of  mobile  devices  or  services  in  library   instruction,  a  very  commonly  mentioned  mobile  service  in  the  literature,  cannot  generally  be   determined  via  a  website  visit.  In  addition,  the  website  visit  provides  only  a  snapshot  of  the   current  state  of  mobile  services;  university  libraries  may  be  planning  to  implement  or  even  be  in   the  process  of  implementing  mobile  services.  Lastly,  website  visits  evaluate  what  is  publicly   available,  but  it  is  not  possible  to  access  password-­‐protected  information  meant  only  for  a   university’s  students  and  faculty  to  assess  mobile  content.  To  address  these  shortcomings,  we   created  a  survey  using  SurveyMonkey  to  complement  the  data  supplied  from  the  website  visits.   We  sent  out  the  survey  via  email  to  each  of  the  top  100  universities’  libraries.    The  survey  was   conducted  from  April  10,  2014,  to  April  24,  2014.     RESULTS  AND  ANALYSIS   Study  results  presented  compelling  evidence  that  mobile  services  are  already  ubiquitous  among   the  country's  top  universities.  The  most  recognized  ones  are  mobile  sites,  mobile  apps,  mobile   OPACs,  mobile  access  to  databases,  text  messaging  services,  QR  codes,  augmented  reality,  and  e-­‐ books.  These  service  forms  confirm  those  commonly  named  in  the  literature  as  library  mobile   services.   What  basic  types  of  mobile  services  do  the  libraries  provide?   The  results  showed  all  of  the  libraries  offered  one  or  more  of  the  specific  mobile  services  in  Chart   1  with  multiple  entries  allowed,  presenting  modernized  new  service  patterns  the  university   libraries  provide  to  meet  the  needs  and  demands  of  university  communities  in  this  digital  era.     INFORMATION  TECHNOLOGIES  AND  LIBRARIES  |  JUNE  2015   139     Chart  1.  Percentage  of  Libraries  Offering  Specific  Mobile  Services  (Multiple  Entries  Allowed).   It  is  clear  from  both  the  survey  results  and  the  website  visits  that  almost  all  libraries  at  the  top   100  universities  are  offering  multiple  mobile  services,  with  mobile  websites,  mobile  access  to  the   library’s  catalog,  mobile  access  to  the  library’s  databases,  e-­‐books,  and  text  messaging  services   being  the  most  common.  QR  codes  and  especially  augmented  reality  are  not  as  common.     Of  the  eight  main  mobile  services  we  looked  for  via  the  website  visits  and  survey  (mobile  site,   mobile  app  for  the  site,  mobile  OPAC,  mobile  access  to  databases,  text  messaging,  QR  codes,   augmented  reality,  and  e-­‐books),  all  libraries  surveyed  offer  between  one  and  seven  of  these   services.  No  universities  have  none  of  these  services,  and  no  universities  have  all  of  these  services.   Only  one  university  has  one  service,  none  have  two,  seven  have  three,  thirteen  have  four,  twenty-­‐ four  have  five,  forty-­‐six  have  six,  and  eight  have  seven.  To  make  this  information  easy  to  read,  we   summarized  it  in  Table  1  below.   Number  of  mobile   services  offered   Number  of   libraries   Percentage   of  libraries   No  mobile  services   0   0%   1  mobile  service   1   1%   2  mobile  services   0   0%   3  mobile  services   7   7%   4  mobile  services   13   13%   5  mobile  services   24   24%   6  mobile  services   46   46%   7  mobile  services   8   8%   8  mobile  services   0   0%   Table  1.  Number  of  mobile  services  offered.   5.0%   29.2%   58.7%   77.2%   81.6%   81.7%   88.0%   92.6%   Augmented  reality   Mobile  app  for  site   QR  codes   Text  messaging   Mobile  website   Mobile  databases   Mobile  OPAC   E-­‐books   Percentage  of  Libraries  Offering  SpeciMic  Mobile   Services       A  LIBRARY  IN  THE  PALM  OF  YOUR  HAND:  MOBILE  SERVICES  IN  THE  TOP  100  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARIES  |     LIU  AND  BRIGGS  |  doi:  10.6017/ital.v34i2.5650   140   Such  a  data  pattern  demonstrates  not  only  that  mobile  services  are  very  widespread  at  these   universities’  libraries,  but  also  that  the  vast  majority  of  these  libraries  offer  multiple  mobile   services.  In  other  words,  libraries  do  not  appear  to  be  offering  mobile  services  in  isolation;  they   have  taken  several  of  their  most  popular  services  (such  as  websites,  reference,  and  search   functions)  and  mobilized  all  of  them.  In  fact,  the  average  number  of  mobile  services  offered  among   the  eight  services  we  examined  is  5.31.      Although  results  collected  from  the  two  research  methods  (website  visits  and  survey)  are  almost   identical  for  mobile  websites  and  mobile  OPACs  and  are  very  comparable  for  text  messaging,  QR   codes,  and  augmented  reality  there  is  a  bit  of  a  gap  between  results  from  the  website  visits  and  the   survey  regarding  mobile  databases  (92.9%  vs.  70.59%),  but  perhaps  libraries  that  responded  to   the  survey  just  happened  to  offer  mobile  access  to  databases  less  often  than  all  the  libraries  in   general.      It  is  interesting  that  we  located  e-­‐books  on  100%  of  the  websites  we  visited,  but  only  85.29%  of   respondents  mention  offering  them.  Perhaps  this  discrepancy  can  be  explained  by  a  clarification  in   terms.  We  looked  for  the  presence  of  books  in  electronic  format  that  could  be  accessed  online.   Perhaps  survey  respondents  only  considered  e-­‐books  specifically  formatted  for  smart  phones  or   tablets  as  a  mobile  service.  Also,  later  in  the  survey  several  respondents  mention  communication   issues  as  an  ongoing  challenge  in  offering  mobile  services,  specifically,  not  always  knowing  what   other  library  departments  are  offering  in  terms  of  mobile  services.  It  is  possible  that  some  survey   respondents  are  not  responsible  for  the  e-­‐book  collection  and  thus  did  not  mention  it  as  a  mobile   service.     Another  discrepancy  exists  between  the  results  for  mobile  apps  for  the  library’s  site  (20.2%  for   the  website  visits  versus  38.24%  for  the  survey).  These  results  indicate  that  mobile  apps  for   libraries’  sites  are  more  common  than  we  had  previously  thought.  Perhaps  these  apps  are  being   advertised  in  places  other  than  on  the  library’s  website,  and  therefore  a  website  visit  is  not  the   best  way  to  discover  them.     The  website  visits  did  not  look  for  mobile  library  instruction,  mobile  book  renewal,  or  mobile   interlibrary  loan,  but  through  our  website  visits  we  saw  these  services  mentioned  several  times   and  thus  included  them  in  the  survey.  They  turned  out  to  be  somewhat  common  among  libraries   surveyed;  41.18%  of  respondents  offer  mobile  book  renewal,  20.59%  offer  mobile  interlibrary   loan,  and  32.35%  offer  mobile-­‐friendly  library  instruction.     Table  2  below  compares  the  data  collected  from  both  the  website  visits  and  the  survey  among   these  100  universities,  ranking  from  high  to  low  percentages.  In  most  cases,  they  are  very  similar.         INFORMATION  TECHNOLOGIES  AND  LIBRARIES  |  JUNE  2015   141     Mobile  Services   Percentage  of   libraries  offering   service  (Website   Visits)   Percentage  of   libraries  offering   service  (Survey)   E-­‐books   100%   85.29%   Mobile  databases   92.90%   70.59%   Mobile  OPAC   87.80%   88.24%   Mobile  website   80.80%   82.35%   Text  messaging   80.80%   73.53%   QR  codes   61.60%   55.88%   Mobile  app  for  site   20.20%   38.24%   Augmented  reality   7.00%   2.94%   Table  2.  Data  Comparison  of  Specific  Mobile  Services  between  Website  Visits  &  Survey.   What content do the mobile sites offer? In addition to assessing whether libraries had a mobile site, the survey asked libraries that already have a mobile site what is included on the site. 100% of libraries with mobile sites include library hours on their site, making this the most common feature. The next two most common features are library contact information and a search function for the catalog, which both received 96.67%. Searching within mobile-friendly databases , such as EBSCOhost Mobile, JSTOR and PubMed, is the next most popular feature, although it trailed a little behind library hours, contact information, and catalog searching at 70%. Book renewal received 56.67%, and access to patron accounts received 53.33%. Interlibrary loan is the least common feature by far, offered by only 26.67% of respondents. This information is summarized in Chart 2 below: Chart  2.  Components  of  Libraries’  Mobile  Sites.   26.67%   53.33%   56.67%   70.00%   96.67%   96.67%   Interlibrary  loan   Access  to  patron  accounts   Book  renewal   Search  the  databases   Library  contact  information   Search  the  catalog   Components  of  Libraries'  Mobile  Sites     A  LIBRARY  IN  THE  PALM  OF  YOUR  HAND:  MOBILE  SERVICES  IN  THE  TOP  100  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARIES  |     LIU  AND  BRIGGS  |  doi:  10.6017/ital.v34i2.5650   142   These  results  are  interesting  as,  overall,  they  reflect  higher  percentages  for  specific  mobile   services  than  question  1  on  the  survey,  which  asked  which  mobile  services  libraries  offer.  For   example,  in  question  1,  88.24%  of  respondents  offer  mobile  access  to  the  library’s  catalog,   whereas  for  libraries  with  mobile  sites,  96.67%  offer  access  to  the  catalog  on  the  mobile  site.  The   ability  to  search  mobile-­‐friendly  versions  of  databases  the  library  subscribes  to  was  almost  the   same  for  both  groups,  with  70.59%  of  respondents  to  question  1  offering  this  and  70%  of   respondents  having  this  as  a  component  of  their  mobile  sites.  Mobile  book  renewal  is  much  more   common  among  libraries  with  mobile  sites;  56.67%  of  respondents  with  mobile  sites  compared  to   41.18%  of  total  respondents.  A  slightly  higher  percentage  of  respondents  with  mobile  sites  offer   mobile  interlibrary  loan  (26.67%)  compared  to  all  respondents  (20.59%).  This  data  suggests  that,   on  the  whole,  libraries  with  mobile  sites  are  more  likely  to  offer  other  mobile  services  as  well,   specifically  mobile  access  to  the  catalog,  mobile  book  renewal,  and  mobile  interlibrary  loan.     What  mobile  reference  services  do  libraries  provide?   The  survey  also  looked  for  information  on  virtual  and/or  mobile  reference  services.  81.25%  of   survey  respondents  offer  text/SMS  messaging,  100%  offer  chat/IM,  and  21.88%  offer  reference   services  via  a  social  media  account.  These  results  showing  popular  reference  services  in  these  top   universities  are  summarized  in  Chart  3  below:   Chart  3.  Popular  Mobile  Reference  Services.   Chat/IM  is  obviously  the  most  popular  method  of  providing  virtual/mobile  reference  services;  all   survey  respondents  offer  this  service.  Text/SMS  is  also  very  popular,  indicating  that  the  majority   of  libraries  see  value  in  providing  both  despite  their  similar  functions.  The  fact  that  social  media   does  not  compare  favorably  to  either  texting  or  chat/IM  services  is  curious  because  most  social   media  platforms  have  a  mobile  version  available  that  libraries  can  take  advantage  of  for  free.   However,  this  may  not  be  the  best  medium  for  reference.  One  respondent  commented  on  this   question,  “Our  ‘Ask  a  Librarian’  service  is  available  from  desktop  Facebook,  but  not  on  mobile   Facebook.”     22%   81%   100%   Social  media   Text/SMS   Chat/IM   Popular  Virtual/Mobile  Reference  Services     INFORMATION  TECHNOLOGIES  AND  LIBRARIES  |  JUNE  2015   143   What  apps  do  libraries  use  or  provide  for  patrons?   Although  the  website  visits  and  survey  results  indicated  that  apps  for  a  library’s  site  are  not  very   common,  both  tools  revealed  that  use  of  apps  for  various  purposes  is  widespread.  The  most   commonly  mentioned  app  is  BrowZine,  which  is  used  for  accessing  e-­‐journals.  Several   respondents  mentioned  apps  developed  in-­‐house  for  using  library  services,  such  as  an  app  for   reserving  a  study  room,  accessing  university  archives,  and  sending  catalog  records  to  a  mobile   device.  Another  respondent  stated  that  the  university’s  app  has  a  library  function.  Several   respondents  mentioned  vendor-­‐provided  or  third-­‐party  apps,  such  as  apps  for  accessing  PubMed,   ScienceDirect,  Naxos  Music  Library,  AccessMyLibrary  (for  Gale  resources),  a  mobile  medical   dictionary,  and  the  American  Chemical  Society.  One  respondent  noted  that  the  library  loans  iPads   preloaded  with  popular  apps  to  support  student  research  such  as  EndNote,  Notability,   GoodReader,  Pages,  Numbers,  and  Keynote,  among  others.  Finally,  these  apps  were  named  at  least   once  as  an  app  libraries  either  use  or  provide  access  to:  iResearch  (for  storing  articles  locally),   Boopsie  (for  building  a  library  mobile  app),  ebrary  (for  accessing  e-­‐books),  and  Safari  (for   accessing  books  and  videos  online).  These  results  indicate  that  the  use  of  apps  is  fairly  robust  and   diverse  among  these  libraries.  Additionally,  from  these  results,  it  seems  more  common  for   libraries  to  use  and/or  provide  apps  created  by  third  parties  than  to  develop  an  in-­‐house  app,   perhaps  due  to  the  expertise  and  expense  involved  in  creating  and  maintaining  an  app.     What  mobile  services  will  be  added  in  the  future?   The  final  question  of  the  survey  asks  libraries  if  there  are  any  plans  to  offer  a  mobile  service  not   currently  provided.  Responses  are  summarized  in  Chart  4  below.     Chart  4.  Percentage  of  the  Libraries  Seeking  to  Add  Specific  Mobile  Services   The  most  common  selection  is  mobile  friendly  library  instruction,  with  61.54%.  The  next  most   common  is  a  mobile  website  (46.15%).  Mobile  interlibrary  loan  was  chosen  by  38.46%  of   8%   8%   8%   15%   15%   15%   38%   46%   62%   Text  messaging  services   QR  codes   Mobile  app(s)   E-­‐books   Augmented  reality   Mobile  OPAC   Mobile  databases   Mobile  book  renewal   Mobile  interlibrary  loan   Mobile  website   Mobile  library  instruction   Planned  Mobile  Services  Additions     A  LIBRARY  IN  THE  PALM  OF  YOUR  HAND:  MOBILE  SERVICES  IN  THE  TOP  100  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARIES  |     LIU  AND  BRIGGS  |  doi:  10.6017/ital.v34i2.5650   144   respondents.  Less  common  services  planned  include  adding  mobile  access  to  the  library’s  OPAC,   mobile  access  to  the  library’s  databases,  and  mobile  book  renewal,  each  of  which  were  chosen  by   15.38%  of  respondents.  7.69%  of  respondents  are  planning  to  add  mobile  apps,  e-­‐books,  and   augmented  reality,  respectively.  No  one  indicated  plans  to  add  text  messaging  services  or  QR   codes.  These  results  indicate  that  libraries  expect  demand  for  traditional  library  services  in  a   mobile-­‐friendly  format  to  continue  to  expand;  mobile  friendly  library  instruction  was  only  offered   by  32.35%  of  respondents,  yet  61.54%  have  plans  to  offer  this  service  in  the  future.  Mobile   interlibrary  loan  is  currently  offered  by  20.59%  of  respondents,  so  the  fact  that  38.46%  would  like   to  add  it  represents  a  significant  change.     Not  surprisingly,  mobile  websites  are  likely  to  remain  a  very  popular  mobile  service.  The  fact  that   82.35%  of  respondents  already  have  a  mobile  website  and  46.15%  who  do  not  have  one  wish  to   add  one  in  the  near  future  means  that  mobile-­‐friendly  sites  are  well  on  their  way  to  becoming   ubiquitous,  at  least  among  libraries  at  the  top  100  universities,  and  may  reasonably  be  expected  to   take  their  place  among  websites  in  general  as  a  necessity  to  maintain  institutional  viability.   Additionally,  several  respondents  mentioned  moving  towards  responsive  design,  in  which  their   websites  are  fully  functional  regardless  of  whether  they  are  accessed  on  mobile  devices  or   desktops.   What  are  challenges  and  strategies  for  offering  mobile  services?   In  addition  to  looking  for  the  presence  or  absence  of  mobile  services  being  offered  at  top  100   university  libraries,  the  survey  also  examined  libraries’  experiences  in  implementing  mobile   services,  including  challenges,  successes,  and  best  practices.  Several  themes  emerged  in  response   to  these  questions.  The  most  common  challenge  among  respondents  was  having  the  time,   expertise,  staffing  and  money  to  support  mobile  services,  especially  apps  and  mobile  sites.  To   solve  this  problem,  respondents  mention  relying  on  vendors  and  third-­‐party  providers  supplying   apps  to  access  their  resources,  but  this  does  not  give  libraries  the  flexibility  and  specificity  of  an   in-­‐house  app.     Another  common  challenge  mentioned  by  several  respondents  involved  technical  issues,  such  as   difficulties  with  off  campus  access  to  resources  via  a  proxy  server  and  compatibility  issues  among   different  browsers  and  especially  different  devices.  A  lack  of  communication  and/or  support  is   another  issue  for  libraries.  One  respondent  reported  a  lack  of  support  from  the  campus  computing   center  for  mobile  services.  One  respondent  discussed  the  difficulty  of  having  a  coordinated  mobile   effort  when  the  library  has  a  large  number  of  departments,  and  each  department  may  or  may  not   be  aware  of  what  the  others  are  doing  in  regards  to  mobile  services.  Survey  results  revealed  that   few  libraries  have  policies  in  place  to  support  mobile  services.     Coming  up  with  a  specific  plan  for  implementing  such  services  can  help  libraries  work  towards   promoting  effective  communication  and  garnering  support.  One  respondent  wrote,  “The  biggest   challenges  have  been:  (1)  developing  a  strategy  (2)  developing  a  service  model  (3)  having  a   systematic  model  for  managing  content  for  both  mobile-­‐  and  non-­‐mobile  applications.  We've  had     INFORMATION  TECHNOLOGIES  AND  LIBRARIES  |  JUNE  2015   145   success  with  the  first  two  and  are  making  great  progress  on  the  third.”  Interestingly,  several   respondents  noted  that  underuse  is  an  issue  for  some  services.  One  respondent  mentioned  that   QR  codes  are  not  used  often,  and  another  mentioned  that  the  library’s  text-­‐a-­‐librarian  service  is   much  underutilized.  Several  respondents  cited  the  need  to  market  mobile  services  as  an  antidote   to  this  problem.  Seeking  regular  feedback  from  the  user  community  regarding  mobile  services   wants  and  needs  is  another  recommended  solution.   Other  issues  include  the  fact  that  not  all  library  services  are  mobilized.  However,  libraries  are   actively  looking  for  solutions  for  this.  There  is  a  trend  among  respondents  towards  developing  a   site  that  is  responsive  to  all  devices,  including  desktops,  laptops,  tablets,  and  phones.  This  will  take   the  place  of  a  separate  mobile  site.  As  one  respondent  states,  “At  the  moment,  our  library  mobile   website  only  has  a  fraction  of  the  services  available  via  our  desktop  website.  We  are  in  the  process   of  moving  everything  to  responsive  design,  with  the  expectation  that  all  services  will  be  equally   available  in  mobile  and  desktop.”  In  reading  through  these  responses,  one  message  is  clear:  mobile   services  are  a  must.  Several  respondents  noted  that  demand  for  mobile  services  is  growing,  with   one  writing,  “Get  started  as  soon  as  possible.  Our  analytics  show  that  mobile  use  is  continuing  to   increase.”   CONCLUSION   This  study  confirms  that  as  of  spring  2014  mobile  services  are  already  ubiquitous  among  the   country’s  top  100  universities’  libraries  and  are  likely  to  continue  to  grow.  Where  the  most   common  services  offered  are  e-­‐books,  chat/IM,  mobile  access  to  databases,  mobile  access  to  the   library  catalog,  mobile  sites,  and  text  messaging  services,  there  is  a  trend  towards  responsive   design  for  websites  so  that  patrons  can  access  the  library’s  full  site  on  any  mobile  device.       The  experiences  of  these  libraries  demonstrate  the  value  of  creating  a  plan  for  providing  mobile   services,  allotting  the  appropriate  amount  of  staffing,  time,  and  funding,  communicating  among   departments  and  stakeholders  to  coordinate  mobile  efforts,  marketing  services,  and  regularly   seeking  patron  feedback.  However,  there  is  no  one  approach  to  offering  mobile  services,  and  each   library  must  do  what  works  best  for  its  patrons.   REFERENCES     1.     Andrew  Walsh,  Using  Mobile  Technology  to  Deliver  Library  Services  (Maryland:  Scarecrow   Press,  2012),  xiv.   2.     “Smartphone  Ownership  2013,”  last  modified  June  5,  2013,   http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/06/05/smartphone-­‐ownership-­‐2013/.   3.     Thomas  A.  Peters,  “Left  to  Their  Own  Devices:  The  Future  of  Reference  Services  on  Personal,   Portable  Information,  Communication,  and  Entertainment  Devices,”  Reference  Librarian  52   (2011):  88-­‐97,  doi:10.1080/02763877.2011.520110.     A  LIBRARY  IN  THE  PALM  OF  YOUR  HAND:  MOBILE  SERVICES  IN  THE  TOP  100  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARIES  |     LIU  AND  BRIGGS  |  doi:  10.6017/ital.v34i2.5650   146     4.     ACRL  Research  Planning  and  Review  Committee,  “Top  Ten  Trends  in  Academic  Libraries,  “   College  &  Research  Libraries  News  73  (2012):  311-­‐320.   5.     Lauren  Elmore  and  Derek  Stephens,  “The  Application  of  QR  Codes  in  UK 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 Brittany  Osika  and  Cate  Kaufman,  “’Mobilizing’  Community  College  Libraries,”  Searcher  20   (2012):  36-­‐46.   13.    Scott  La  Counte,  “Introduction,”  in  Mobile  Library  Services:  Best  Practices,  ed.  Charles  Harmon   and  Michael  Messina.  (Maryland:  Scarecrow  Press,  2013),  v-­‐vii.     14.    Fred  D.  Barnhart  and  Jeannette  E.  Pierce,  “Becoming  Mobile:  Reference  in  the  Ubiquitous   Library,”  Journal  of  Library  Administration  52  (2012):  559-­‐570,     doi:10.1080/01930826.2012.707954.   15.    Mark  Andy  West,  Arthur  W.  Hafner,  and  Bradley  D.  Faust,  “Expanding  Access  to  Library   Collections  and  Services  Using  Small-­‐Screen  Devices,”  Information  Technology  &  Libraries  25   (2006):  103-­‐107.   16.    Joan  K.  Lippincott,  “Mobile  Technologies,  Mobile  Users:  Implications  for  Academic  Libraries,”   ARL:  A  Bimonthly  Report  on  Research  Library  Issues  &  Actions  261  (2008):  1-­‐4.     17.    Walsh,  Using  Mobile  Technology,  58.   18.    Ibid.   19.    “Mobile  Technology  in  Libraries  Survey.”     INFORMATION  TECHNOLOGIES  AND  LIBRARIES  |  JUNE  2015   147     20.    Edward  Iglesias  and  Wittawat  Meesangnil,  “Mobile  Website  Development:  From  Site  to  App,”   Bulletin  of  the  American  Society  for  Information  Science  and  Technology  38  (2011):  18-­‐23,   doi:  10.1002/bult.2011.1720380108.   21.    Joshua  Bishoff,  “Going  Mobile  at  Illinois:  A  Case  Study,”  in  Mobile  Library  Services:  Best   Practices,  ed.  Charles  Harmon  and  Michael  Messina.  (Maryland:  Scarecrow  Press,  2013),  107-­‐ 121.   22.    Walsh,  Using  Mobile  Technology.   23.    Helen  Bischoff,  Michele  Ruth,  and  Ben  Rawlins,  “Making  the  Library  Mobile  on  a  Shoestring   Budget,”  in  Mobile  Library  Services:  Best  Practices,  ed.  Charles  Harmon  and  Michael  Messina.   (Maryland:  Scarecrow  Press,  2013),  43-­‐54.     24.    Walsh,  Using  Mobile  Technology.   25.    Ibid.   26.    Ibid.   27.    Ibid.,  105.   28.    Ibid.,  97.   29.    Ibid.   30.    “Go  Mobile:  Use  These  Strategies  and  Increase  your  Mobile  Literacy  and  your  Patrons’   Satisfaction,”  last  modified  November  1,  2009,   http://libraryconnect.elsevier.com/articles/technology-­‐content/2009-­‐11/go-­‐mobile.     31.    Walsh,  Using  Mobile  Technology,  45.   32.    Peters,  “Left  to  Their  Own  Devices.”   33.    Geoffrey  Little,  “Keeping  Moving:  Smart  Phone  and  Mobile  Technologies  in  the  Academic   Library,”  Journal  of  Academic  Librarianship  37  (2011):  267-­‐269,  doi:   10.1016/j.acalib.2011.03.004.   34.    Elmore  and  Stephens,  “The  Application  of  QR  Codes.”   35.    Jim  Hahn,  “Mobile  Augmented  Reality  Applications  for  Library  Services,”  New  Library  World   113  (2012):  429-­‐438,  accessed  June  21,  2014,  doi:10.1108/03074801211273902.   36.    Ibid.   37.    WolfWalk:  Explore  NC  State  History  Right  on  your  Phone,”   http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/wolfwalk/.     A  LIBRARY  IN  THE  PALM  OF  YOUR  HAND:  MOBILE  SERVICES  IN  THE  TOP  100  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARIES  |     LIU  AND  BRIGGS  |  doi:  10.6017/ital.v34i2.5650   148     38.    Ibid.   39.    Osika  and  Kaufman,  “Mobilizing  Community  College  Libraries.”   40.    Kate  Kosturski  and  Frank  Skornia,  “Handheld  Libraries  101:  Using  Mobile  Technologies  in  the   Academic  Library,”  Computers  in  Libraries  31  (2011):  11-­‐13.     41.    “National  University  Rankings,”  http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-­‐ colleges/rankings/national-­‐universities/spp+50.