Mobile Web Devices and
Academic m-Libraries
Sue Bradley, MLIS Candidate
&
Rowena McKernan, MLIS Candidate
UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
10/15/2009
Mobile Web Devices and Academic m-Libraries
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Table of Contents
Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 3
Synthesis of Existing Research ...................................................................................................................... 4
User Expectations ............................................................................................................................. 5
Student Feedback on Usefulness of Different m-Library Services ...................................... 5
Librarians' Perceptions of m-Library Service Usefulness .................................................... 9
Messaging: SMS versus IM .............................................................................................................. 11
Instant Messaging (IM) ..................................................................................................... 11
Short Messaging Services (SMS) ....................................................................................... 11
m-Library Websites ......................................................................................................................... 14
Displaying Search Results in m-Libraries......................................................................................... 17
Ongoing Research & Research Examples ........................................................................................ 20
Conclusions ................................................................................................................................................. 20
References .................................................................................................................................................. 24
Further Resources ....................................................................................................................................... 28
Mobile Web Devices and Academic m-Libraries
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Introduction
We are investigating the actual and potential uses of mobile web devices such as cell phones,
iPhones, and Blackberries in relation to academic mobile library (m-library) services. The “mobile
web” refers to the World Wide Web as accessed though a mobile device, and is not limited to sites
that have been designed specifically for mobile devices. (Kroski, 2009)
Mobile web technology is currently exploding in use. There has been a rapid growth in subscribers
both domestically and worldwide. Much of this growth can be attributed to an increase of
smartphones with web capabilities, as well as an increase in the speed at which people can connect
to the web using these devices (Madden, 2009).
Libraries are gradually beginning to offer mobile services to patrons in several ways: (Buczynski,
2008)

Reference services via text messaging

Text message alerts and circulation services

mobile library (m-library) online public access catalogues (m-OPACs)

Audio tours and library instruction
Mobile technology presents several challenges inherent to its small design such as screen size, lack
of memory (little room for cache and cookies), and slower connections than more traditional
computers. Although all of these factors are being mitigated with technological advances over time,
mobile specific information delivery needs remain to be addressed.
Mobile Web Devices and Academic m-Libraries
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Websites that are developed for the small screen “appear as scaled-back versions of their desktop
counterparts, often with a numbered menu system for quick access to content. Web destinations
which do not have mobile versions appear as if they were squeezed onto the tiny screen, and
oftentimes have overlapping menus and links.” (Kroski, 2009, p.3).
There are two approaches to designing web pages for mobile devices: (McGreal, 2005)
 Design platform dependent templates (i.e. create one template for desktop browsers and
another for mobile devices).
 Design pages that can scale to be viewed on any device.
The University of British Columbia (UBC) Library has recently begun to adapt their services for
mobile users by providing a mobile specific website (www.libraries.ubc/m). We are undertaking
this literature review and subsequent research design to aid UBC System Librarians in designing
and implementing UBC Library services for mobile users. We are attempting to better understand
how m-library services can be enhanced to serve patrons who might wish to utilize such mobile
devices as a library interface.
Synthesis of Existing Research
In order for information specialists to tailor their library websites and online public access
catalogues (OPACs) to accommodate mobile web users, it is critical that they examine the types of
mobile devices that their users currently own, or plan to own in the future, as well as what types of
m-library services they feel they would use. It is also necessary to determine how users prefer to
utilize their devices. Understanding these needs will help information specialists properly modify a
library OPAC/website. Recent research on these issues has been examined.
Mobile Web Devices and Academic m-Libraries
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User Expectations
Student Feedback on Usefulness of Different m-Library Services
In 2006, Karim, Darus & Hussin published a refereed research paper, “Mobile phone applications in
academic library services: a student’s feedback survey”. The authors used a survey to examine the
“perceptions and nature of wireless phone use” of 206 students at two Malaysian universities.
Although this research was conducted a number of years ago, the results are still relevant in gaining
an understanding of which library services students will likely want to use.
The ranking scale used was:
1 = Not at all useful, 2 = Not useful, 3 = Neutral, 4 = Useful and 5 = Very useful
Seven of the library services listed received mean scores of 3 or higher. These were:

Renewing of library items

Getting information from the library OPAC/databases

Checking records of books borrowed

Getting alerts of overdue books

Getting information on outstanding fees

Receiving reminders to return library items that will be due soon

Reference enquiry services
There are several limitations to this study. The principle problems are that it is outdated (data
having been collected in 2005, which was when PDAs were in common use but the iPhone had not
yet been released), it was carried out on Malaysian rather than Canadian students, and only
involved a small group of students.
Mobile Web Devices and Academic m-Libraries
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Cultural and economic differences could mean very different mobile web usage patterns. Despite
these limitations, the results are relevant in understanding which library services students might
find most useful for mobile access.
The 2008 ECAR (Educause Center for Applied Research) Study of Undergraduate Students and
Information Technology (Caruso & Salaway, 2008; Salaway, Caruso, Nelson & Ellison, 2008)
examined the “technology behaviors, preferences, and attitudes of higher education’s
undergraduates”, (Caruso & Salaway, 2008, p.1) with particular emphasis on how this related to
their academic experience. This study was of 27,317 undergraduate students at 98 universities and
colleges in the United States. Although there were no questions specifically on library services, the
results on mobile phone ownership and usage provide important information with regard to
potential library service usage. It was found that two-thirds of students who responded owned an
“internet-capable cell phone”, although only 30.8% reported using it to access the Internet. The
chief reason reported for not doing so was cost.
Another study on this topic was carried out at the Ryerson University Library in November of 2008.
They conducted a survey of library patrons' cell phone/mobile device usage. The full survey and
data results have not been published, but a short synopsis of results has been posted on the
Library’s website (http://www.ryerson.ca/library/msurvey/index.html).
This study of 811
Canadian academic library users, 84% of whom were undergraduates, examined the topics:

Phone Ownership

What do you use your mobile device to do?

If you have Internet access on your phone, what do you use it for?

What type of phone will you get next?

What additional services would you like?

Will you buy a non-phone mobile device (such as an iPod Touch or PDA)?

What Library services would you like to access on your phone?
Mobile Web Devices and Academic m-Libraries
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The phone ownership question found that 77.2% of respondents owned cell phones, 20.7% owned
smartphones, and 3.2% owned neither. Of the decided respondents, 64% reported that they would
purchase a smartphone next, while 30% indicated that they plan to continue with a regular cell
phone.
The results also found that of the eleven library services listed in the survey, there were six services
that more than 50% of respondents indicated that they would likely utilize via their mobile phones:

Book study rooms

Check hours and locations

Check borrower status

Check catalogues

Search for articles

Check out items
In April 2009, Keren Mills published the research report “M-Libraries: Information use on the
move”. The research was carried out in order to:
“...scope the information requirements of academic library users on the move in
order to inform future development of library services to mobile devices. The aim
was to identify trends in the way people currently interact with information
using their mobile phones, and then extrapolate ways that libraries could
support those mobile information needs.” (Mills, 2009, p.4)
This research involved an online survey questionnaire of students and faculty at both the UK
Cambridge (1,530 respondents) and Open Universities (776 respondents).
Mobile Web Devices and Academic m-Libraries
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Of the choices presented, there were five library services that 40% (or more) of the respondents
felt would be most useful to access using a mobile phone:

Open hours

Location map

Contact information

Library catalogue (OPAC)

Borrowing record
At the time the survey was conducted, it was found that people were more “positive” about using
Short Message Service (SMS) than the mobile web to access information. However, it was
emphasized that this may well change with the increasing use of smartphones. These types of
phones can access standard websites designed for larger screen-sizes.
The recommendations reached with respect to library information services were that postsecondary institutions should consider providing library services such as:

Piloting text alerting messages

Piloting a text reference service

Providing a mobile OPAC interface

Ensuring that the library website is accessible and will resize to smaller screens

Providing audio tours of the library

Allowing mobile phone use in the library
In 2009 the Association of College & Research Libraries (CARL) published Char Booth’s research
report “Informing innovation: tracking student interest in emerging library technologies at Ohio
University, 2009.” One of the goals of this study was “…to create an accurate and insightful
portrayal of the library culture of Ohio University students, which I define as consisting of student
Mobile Web Devices and Academic m-Libraries
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attitudes, perceptions, needs, and expectations in respect to library facilities and information
resources.” (Booth, 2009, p.67) Although Ohio University did not have m-Library service at the
time that this study was undertaken, the research did examine respondents’ interests in a number
of emerging mobile and social library technology tools, such as texting call numbers, or calling a
librarian via Skype. The results were surprising, in that the respondents found to be the most
technologically receptive were 27 years of age and older. 42% of this group expressed strong
interest in a series of mobile and social library tools, relative to 23% of respondents aged 26 and
younger. This difference was found to be far less marked between graduate and undergraduate
students (33% vs. 23%). This indicated that, among the survey participants, increased age was a
stronger indicator than graduate status in determining interest in mobile and social library tools.
The mobile and social library tools that students felt that they would most use were found to fall in
the order:
Toolbars > Facebook > Text/SMS > Mobile Browsing > Web calling
This research was carried out in 2008. The conclusion reached was that “library tools such as
texting, mobile browsing, and web calling were perceived as very usable in a library service setting
by a smaller proportion of respondents, and potentially usable by a larger proportion of
respondents”. (Booth, 2009, p. 88) Regardless, it was noted that both mobile and social library tools
each would likely become more viable as library services, as “the technologies upon which they are
based grow more sophisticated and widely adopted.” (Booth, 2009, p. 88)
Librarians' Perceptions of m-Library Service Usefulness
“Handheld Librarians: A Survey of Librarian and Library Patron Use of Wireless Handheld Devices”
is a refereed research study published in 2008 by Todd Spires, a Collection development librarian
at Bradley University. This paper presented the results and analysis of a survey of 766 librarians,
Mobile Web Devices and Academic m-Libraries
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principally academic, in the United States in August 2007. The survey was designed to address
several aspects of wireless handheld device use, including:

If and how libraries have adapted web page content for wireless handheld device
users.

To determine perceived use of and limitations of wireless handheld devices.
An examination of how librarians perceived the demand for use of mobile web access gave some
interesting results. A few of the conclusions reached that were relevant to our research on mobile
phone use were:

Only a small percentage of library patrons (18%) are perceived as using these
devices.

The most common use of these devices for library services is perceived to be access
to the library catalogue and/or website.

The three groups perceived as the biggest users of these devices in libraries were
undergraduate students, graduate students, and librarians.

Few libraries (15%) have reformatted content for wireless handheld device users.
It must be emphasized that these results are of the perceptions that librarians rather than patrons
had of the need for wireless device access. In addition, the research was conducted over two years
ago. Given the extremely rapid change in use of technology, it is likely that a repeat of the survey
could now yield quite different results. Nonetheless, the results suggest that libraries and librarians
are not keeping up to the rapid changes in available technology, or their patrons use thereof.
Mobile Web Devices and Academic m-Libraries
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Messaging: SMS versus IM
Instant Messaging (IM)
One method of providing reference services to mobile patrons is by the use of instant-messaging
(IM). Bedwell, Rodrigues, Duggan & Orlov examined the use of extending virtual reference services
to patrons through the use of instant messaging and chat widgets.
This refereed research
publication was published in 2008. A comparison of reference questions made using IM versus
virtual reference (VR) services at the University of Guelph found that students used the new IM
service to a greater degree than the in-place VR service. However, this study did not focus on
mobile users.
Instant-messaging is possible for most mobile phones having web-access, but is not a common
built-in feature. (Kroski, 2009, p. 25) For this reason, SMS services would be far more suitable for
most mobile-users.
Short Messaging Services (SMS)
Short messaging service (SMS) is a form of text messaging used extensively on mobile phones
around the world (Parker, 2007). It allows instant messages of up to 160 characters long to be sent.
Libraries can establish SMS services by using an application system that processes data from the
library systems and databases to a form that can be delivered to a mobile device (Figure 1).
Figure 1: A simple outline of SMS system architecture (modified from Karim, 2006)
Mobile Web Devices and Academic m-Libraries
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Parker (2007) published a refereed research study on the number of libraries worldwide that were
offering SMS services to patrons. The data was obtained through a search of the English language
library literature and the web. At that time only 50 libraries with English websites were found to be
using SMS. These encompassed academic, public, and national libraries. The UK was found to have
the most libraries offering this service, with the bulk of the use being in the area of circulation.
Overall, 40 library websites were found that offered SMS circulation services, and 12 that offered
SMS reference services. Interestingly, no Canadian libraries were found to then be using SMS. It
was concluded that, at that time, the potential of SMS use by libraries was not being realized.
Although SMS availability has subsequently increased since the publication of this study, and
Parker's conclusion still appears to be valid.
Beyond circulation there are other uses of SMS being actively studied and utilized in libraries such
as Reference services and OPAC searches.
Research conducted at the Curtin University in Adelaide, Australia concluded that SMS was a viable
delivery mechanism for reference services (Giles & Grey-Smith, 2005). The researchers received
positive feedback from volunteer participants of a pilot study and, based on that success, began to
incorporate SMS reference services into the library's overall online services platform although they
recognized three inherent difficulties with the service:
1. There is no reference interview process;
2. Clients have a limited number of characters to express their query; and
3. Library staff have a limited number of characters in which to respond.
The use of SMS to access a library's OPAC has been described in a peer-reviewed research study
“SMS-based library catalogue system: A preliminary investigation of user acceptance.” (Goh & Liew,
Mobile Web Devices and Academic m-Libraries
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2009). The authors were interested in discovering if an SMS system was a viable service option for
accessing catalogued information at an academic library. Specifically, because of the adjustment of
the traditional conceptual model of the OPAC (accessible through laptops or library terminals) to
the small screens of a mobile device, the researchers wanted to investigate the impact of Selfefficacy (SE), Perceived ease of use (PEOU) and Perceived Usefulness (PU) on ‘Intention to Use’ a
SMS-based library catalogue.
The study used a quantitative approach wherein the researchers created a low-fidelity prototype
(i.e. a series of screen mock-ups) of an SMS based library catalogue system, and used it to
investigate their users 'Intention to Use'. They gathered their data through the delivery of a survey
questionnaire to their test group, which consisted of university age students who used SMS mobile
systems.
The survey results led the researchers to a couple of conclusions. Principally, although Self-Efficacy
had no direct impact on a users ‘Intention to Use’, SE had a positive impact on the OPACs ‘Perceived
Ease Of Use’ and a negative impact on 'Perceived Usefulness'. The researchers concluded that this
negative impact may be 1) a result of the experienced SMS users having a perception that the SMS
system was “to be a straightforward” system (Goh & Liew, 2009, p.405), 2) that the experienced
SMS users would be more quick to discern limitations of the perceived system than novice SMS
users and 3) that the lack of experience with OPACs in general may have had an impact.
Based on these conclusion, Goh & Liew (2009) recommended expansion of this research to involve
conducting a similar study using high-fidelity prototypes (as they felt that the results were
influenced due to the use of screen shots instead of an actual system which may have had an impact
on 'Perceived Usefulness') , separating out internal and external Self-Efficacy (current study biased
Mobile Web Devices and Academic m-Libraries
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towards external), and a recognition of other factors influencing SMS use (social, situational,
mobility, cost).
m-Library Websites
Library websites are the main portal for most students in accessing library content; this includes
students accessing the content through mobile devices. While examining mobile access issues to
library homepages, West, Hafner & Faust (2006 p.104-105) created some guidelines based on
device testing.
1. Conciseness. This was an important issue to ensure that the user did not have to do a lot of
scrolling down a page, or do any scrolling on navigation pages.
2. Limiting Links. Next was limiting the number of links per page to the number of cell phone
pad keys. A key was assigned to each link, allowing cell-phone browsers to easily navigate a
page. If there are more links than keys on a keypad, the navigation page is split in two.
3. Descriptive Icons. Colourful, descriptive icons were placed next to almost every link of the
site’s navigation pages to add to the appeal of the Web site. Not only are these icons
attractive, they are useful as well: Pressing or tapping an icon will bring up a Help Page that
briefly describes the resource or service associated with the icon.
4. Home and Parent-Link Icons. Navigation aids, consisting of at least one icon/link pair, one of
which is always Home, were placed on the bottom of each page. Other icons take the user to
a parent-link page.
5. Additional Icon Links. After the navigation links, along the bottom of each page, is a line of
three links to pages that provide a description of the Web site, an opportunity to e-mail
comments, and a general navigation map of the site.
6. Library Information. Mobile Web Services content includes information on hours, policies,
departments, and collections. Additionally, there is a Reference Links section.
Mobile Web Devices and Academic m-Libraries
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Testing these improvements was done by utilizing a sample of some of the more popular devices on
the market. Improvements were refined until the researchers felt that the Library Homepage
“displayed properly, and could be navigated well on all browsers” (West et al., 2006 p. 106). Quirks
were discovered and documented, and attempts made to rectify them. The guiding principles that
were developed serve as a good roadmap to success for Mobile Web Services. As mobile devices
continue to change and evolve, further device testing will remain an important component of
Mobile Web Services modification and assessment.
Another setting that featured device testing was published recently in Computers in Libraries in
May 2009. Samuel Liston performed his testing in part because of his belief that “As mobile devices
become more ubiquitous among our patrons, it becomes more and more imperative that we
understand how these different devices display our content.” Liston (2009) looked at how easy or
difficult it was for students to perform a common task (such as discovering the availability of a
book) using a variety of popular mobile devices to test different OPACs. He was able to conduct this
testing using mobile browser emulators, provided free online by the companies producing the
phones. These emulators provided an extremely accurate representation of how a web page would
be viewed on mobile devices. The results were that some OPACs rendered very well or well
enough, but that some were completely incompatible with certain devices. Liston (2009) concluded
his study with the observation that even if librarians don’t have a lot of control over how the OPAC
is viewed (because OPAC software often is provided by vendors), librarians do have control over
the overall Library website. A big part of designing for mobile patrons will involve a continuing
look at the mobile devices and the browsers they use for accessing the web.
A 2009 UK report “M-Libraries: Information use on the move” (Mills, 2009) also examined website
access via mobile devices. Interestingly, it concluded that at this time it would not be economically
Mobile Web Devices and Academic m-Libraries
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viable for libraries in the UK to develop library websites dedicated to mobile phone use. Rather, it
was recommended that their library websites should be made mobile browser-friendly through the
use of CSS (cascading style sheets) or Auto-Detect and Reformat (ADR) software. The latter detects
what type of screen a user has, and automatically rearranges its content to suit the type of screen
being used.
As Canada’s leading distance learning institution, Athabasca University (AU) serves 32,000 remote
students (as of 2006). In order to serve distance-only patrons the library has had to develop an MLibrary that is capable of providing a wide range of services. A few items included are the digital
reading room (DRR), digital reference center (DRC), Help Centre, journal databases, and library
services accessible through the web. (Cao, Tin, McGreal, Ally & Coffey, 2006)
To allow these M-library services to be accessed using a variety of digital devices, research was
carried out comparing how different devices would function with the m-library services. “The
Athabasca University Digital Reading Room: Library resources for mobile students” examined
mobile devices such as the Palm Pilot OS Web Pro and the Pocket PC Internet Explorer (McGreal,
Cheung, Tin & Schafe, 2005). Although these devices have now been largely replaced by cell phones
and iPhones, the research results detailing how web pages can best be designed for mobile device
access still apply. It was concluded that “to ensure a page is viewable on a mobile device, the
designer should:
* Avoid using width specific markup for HTML blocks;
* Ensure the layout is fluid/liquid and reflow-able for viewing on different screen sizes;
* Eliminate the use of tables for layout purpose;
* Eliminate the use of images for textual content and link buttons; and
* Avoid the use of frames.” (McGreal et al., 2005, p.51)
Mobile Web Devices and Academic m-Libraries
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This research resulted in AU's M-Library further developing its m-access technology. Users can
request information using a PC or a mobile device, and this request is sent to the server. The server
processes the request by completing the following steps:
1. Detecting the device
2. Choosing the right content and display template
3. Wrapping the page and displaying the adapted content in the appropriate format. (Cao et al.,
2006)
The result is an M-Library that can be readily accessed using a wide range of mobile devices.
Displaying Search Results in m-libraries
The following are characteristics of mobile searchers (Carpineto, Mizzaro, Romano & Snidero, 2009
p. 878):
* More likely to enter shorter queries
* Less likely to scroll past the first few search results
* Less willing to click on search results
* Less likely to carry out multiple queries per session
* Willing to spend more time on the search results page before clicking their first link
When using mobile devices, information presentation needs to be carefully designed. This includes
how a library's search results are displayed. Carpineto et al. (2009) experimented with evaluating
and testing the efficiency of result clustering during information retrieval activities in comparison
to more traditional list-based search result outputs. The results that they observed have
implications for the ordering of search results from library websites.
Mobile Web Devices and Academic m-Libraries
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Due to the small screen size, limited user-input functionalities, and high-cost connectivity liabilities,
the traditional list-based results of search queries were less than adequate when displayed on
mobile devices (Carpineto et al., 2009 p. 877). Clustered search results were preferable because
clustering consists of organizing the results into a labeled hierarchy or related components. This
has the advantage of 1) making shortcuts to related items within a subtopic or meaning, 2) the
ability to filter ‘irrelevant’ items with the result of a shorter visual scan and less or absent scrolling
necessitated and 3) better support for topic understanding and exploration due to the high-level
views provided (Carpineto et al., 2009, p.878).
The study by Carpineto et al. (2009) was conducted to ‘fill the gap’ in our understanding of the
application of search result clustering to small mobile devices in particular and to comprehensively
evaluate the performance of a mobile clustering engine.
Methodologically, first they evaluated the retrieval performance between cluster hierarchies and
ranked lists in a device-independent way using a new metric they called 'subtopic reach time',
defined as: "the number of information items that must be examined while browsing before
retrieving a result relevant to a topic’s subtopic” using a set of standard queries (Carpineto et al.,
2009, p.878). The result they arrived at was that clustering was superior to ranked lists in most
cases.
Second, they introduced user interfaces to the study by comparing desktops to PDA’s and cell
phones. This involved a cross-comparison analysis in which participants searched a standard set of
topics. The participants all used the two search retrieval methods across the three devices. The
results of this second part suggested that the “effectiveness of search result clustering was usually
better than that of ranked lists” (Carpineto et al., 2009, p. 879) with the benefits being more clearly
observed on the mobile phone interface versus a desktop interface.
Mobile Web Devices and Academic m-Libraries
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Church & Smyth (2007) looked at the unique challenges to users engaged in mobile information
seeking, and the particular characteristics of mobile users that exacerbate these challenges.
Drawing from a European mobile community sample (60,000 users), the researchers asked several
questions including whether the query patterns of online mobile users are similar to the query
patterns of regular web searchers; whether or not they availed themselves of advanced search
features, and what types of information they seek. Although not restricted to library users in
particular, the results of this study can help increase our understanding of the uniqueness of mobile
search behavior in comparison to traditional desktop search characteristics.
Their findings
included (Church & Smyth, 2007):
1. Use of advanced search features is all but absent from mobile search.
2. Query length is shorter, averaging 2.06 vs. 2.35 terms per query in comparison to early web
searches.
3. Lower incidence of unique queries compared to web search queries.
4. Significant degree of query overlap (shared terms)
5. Using limited vocabulary may indicate searching for a more limited variety of online content.
Differences in findings included:
1. Mobile searchers engage in more searches per session than their web counterparts.
2. Mobile searching is characterized by a much lower proportion of initial queries (unique)
and a higher proportion of identical/repeat queries.
Church & Smyth (2007) concluded that the following implications were necessary to improve
mobile web searches: the need to exploit query repetition (improve search precision) and to
support query modification (suggesting or recommending useful related queries, exploiting past
behaviour).
Mobile Web Devices and Academic m-Libraries
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The focus on European versus Canadian mobile users and non-post-secondary use is problematic to
our purposes. The researchers also raised the issue that this study (or any study) only “provides an
analysis into mobile information access at a particular point in time” (Church & Smyth, 2007 p. 36)
and that with the continued evolution of technologies this should be viewed as only part of an
ongoing series of studies that help us evolve our understanding of mobile technologies.
Ongoing Research & Research Examples
Currently, the Online Computer Library Center, Inc. (OCLC) is conducting an investigation into
mobile applications and interfaces for the services that it offers. To conduct this investigation they
are collaborating with Boopsie, Inc., which is providing the software for the mobile devices
supported in this study (Android, Blackberry, iPhone, Palm OS, and others). The purpose of this
pilot is to 'gather data to inform and shape future mobile access to WorldCat.org'. For more info,
visit www.worldcat.org/mobile. It has been reported (Hadro, 2009) that the pilot was to last until
June, but as at October 10, 2009, the pilot was still active with feedback being gathered primarily
through volunteer email responses.
Conclusions
Our initial plan was to examine the research that had been published on the use of handheld
devices in university libraries. We quickly discovered that the majority of research material
published was from several years ago, and pertained to first-generation handheld devices such as
PDAs in health science library settings, and mp3 players and iPods for library tours and instruction.
These types of devices were not of interest to us, as their use would not involve the same
complications as newer mobile devices such as cell phones and smartphones such as Blackberries
Mobile Web Devices and Academic m-Libraries
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and i-Phones. A re-design of the UBC Library website to allow access to mobile devices would only
be required for such newer devices.
For these reasons, we narrowed our literature review to focus more on what types of m-services
are currently being offered by other academic libraries, determining which m-services students use
or feel would be useful if those services were offered, and to a smaller degree, what modifications to
library website/OPAC design would be required to allow provision of these services. Although we
will not be recommending designing a research study that tests search algorithms or result
interfaces, we felt that such studies were relevant to our discussion as they broaden our
understanding of the overall patterns of information needs that are particular to mobile users.
Information on all of these topics is helpful for any library considering offering m-library services.
One research study of librarians’ perceptions of user need found that most librarians had no idea if
there was a need, or felt that there was little need for m-library services (Spires, 2008). Another
study examined student interest in technologies that would be applicable to libraries. A surprising
result found was that increased age was a stronger indicator than graduate status in determining
interest in mobile library tools (Booth, 2009). These results emphasize that librarians’ perceptions
of user need should not be relied upon, and research of user needs should be carried out before
library technological modifications are made.
Three studies were found of student perceptions of usefulness, or actual use of m-library tools, and
these revealed some important trends. The research summarized herein found that the library cell
phone/mobile device services that students deemed most useful were:

being able to book study rooms

being able to check library branch open hours, locations, and contact information

being able to renew library items
Mobile Web Devices and Academic m-Libraries

getting alerts of overdue books

getting information on outstanding fees

getting alerts when library items were approaching their due dates

reference inquiry services

getting information from the library OPAC/databases
22
It should be noted that the Ryerson University survey results were not refereed, and full details of
methodology were not available. Regardless, it is a recent study of Canadian academic library users
in a setting similar to UBC. For these reasons, this particular study is of definite interest in
designing a research study to carry out at UBC. A request has been sent for further information and
a copy of the survey used, but this information has not yet been received.
Additional services that have been talked about in the literature include such things as students
being able to use their cell phones to determine the location of library computers that are not in
use, texting SMS book citations directly from the library OPAC to their mobile device, and multimedia messaging services (MMS) for transferring digital and video images (Dougherty, 2009; Hahn,
2008; Lippincott, 2008). Results of research on the use of such services were not found. However,
such options may be feasible to include in a research study of UBC patrons.
In relation to UBC Mobile Web Services, research consideration might be given to user age
differences, program differences (undergraduate or graduate), financial constraints, determination
of the nature of services the academic library could deliver to its users, and the types of services
most requested by its users.
Unfortunately for this field, technology is advancing so quickly that research and publications
rapidly become outdated. In addition, many of the studies examined were carried out in different
Mobile Web Devices and Academic m-Libraries
23
areas of the world, and at different times. It is very possible that cultural and economic factors
could result in very different mobile device usage patterns. These points emphasize the need to
research UBC library patrons' views on the types of mobile services they would use, before putting
in the time and energy to develop and introduce new services based on what has been successful
for other academic libraries.
Mobile Web Devices and Academic m-Libraries
24
References
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28
Further Resources

http://mobile-libraries.blogspot.com
"Mobile Libraries Is Devoted To Documenting Any and All Topics Relating To Services Provided By
Libraries To Patrons Within Mobile Environments. Library Mobile Services Are Defined As Any And
All Library Services That Are Provided Via Mobile Technologies."

http://m-libraries2009.ubc.ca/
A bi-annual international conference that explores topics pertinent to the use of mobile technologies
in libraries.

http://web.simmons.edu/~fox/pda/
A well populated website that contains pertinent information about mobile devices in libraries.

http://www.textually.org/
This website "is the entry point of three weblogs devoted to cell phones and mobile content, focusing
on text messaging and cell phone usage around the world, tracking the latest news and social impact
of these new technologies."

http://handheldlib.blogspot.com/
Handheld computer news, ideas, and opinions from librarians and others interested in libraries.

A completed search for "mobile" and the resultant LISTA RSS Feed (active until 10/5/2010)