23 Mobile Things - Thing 11 : Library & Reference (mobile app that is)

Thing 11 "Does your library or a library in your area have its own app? Apps where you can check your account, search the library catalog, ask a librarian, find library events, and much more?"

It had been awhile since I'd checked out our resources so I looked at them now to see how mobile we are or aren't. Not too bad I'd say.  For our main databases we're 2 out of 3:

EBSCO goes directly to it's mobile version. This is nice -- no need to download an app or go elsewhere. Plus the interface looks clean & simple. jd+Points

JSTOR auto-fits to my iPhone screen and it also popped up the option to download their app. This way I can choose which I'd like to use. Nice because if I'm there just once or not often I might not want the app. But if I'm going to be searching more often via mobile then maybe the app would be a good idea to have. jd+Points

ProQuest I guess you could say auto-fits to my screen but yet it's very small so this will take lots of finger-thumb re-sizing -- 1st off to search & then to work through the results. Not the best yet I see no mobile option or app available. Not mobile friendly.  jd-Points.

Our catalog, MPlus, does have a mobile option and I have this as a link option on our library page. But if you do happen to select our regular catalog link when you're on a mobile device it does redirect automatically to the mobile version. jd+Points

Another often used resource for us is AskMN (a 24/7 librarian chat). I gave this the mobile test and I was sorry to see that it does not re-direct or offer an app. It does auto-fit but then its the whole fingers & thumbs re-sizing thing. I think I'll inquire with them as to any future considerations they may have for becoming mobile-friendly. I just sent off an email! UPDATE: I've already heard back (before this was even published) the reply was an estimated guess of maybe a year-- it's in the hands of the underlying QuestionPoint software. 

And lastly, I'm sad to report, is our library webpage and overall college website. We are not mobile-friendly. But not for lack of my requesting & asking. I've just been up against a CIO and Marketing Director (our website lords) who don't see the need for spending time and money on this. In some ways I do understand -- after all there is the concept of Responsive Web Design (RWD) that should take care of everybody's needs by being flexible without having to code multiple versions. (read this Smashing Magazine article from 1/11 for more info). But this might still be a bit in the future. And in the meantime, our users are mobile now-- so they need & want this capability now. So do I.

Build Your Own App options? Back in March, 2013 I attended the Library Technology Conference at Macalester College, St. Paul. One session was The Mobile Revolution with presenters Aimee Clark & Susan Pratt of the Milford Memorial Library (Iowa). These gals gave many great tips for taking libraries into the mobile frontier-- especially awesome for a small public library in a town with a population of less than 3,000. Part of their presentation covered inexpensive or free ways to make our library websites/webpages mobile-- they covered Mobile, AppsGeyser, and Infinite Monkeys. I have often considered trying one of their options for our library website but I work at a small place so I can't afford to step on the toes of the website lords-- well not beyond assuming either of them will ever read this post. 

23 Mobile Things -- Thing 8 Round 2, the Return to Social Media Management

Thing 8 was on Social Media Management (SSM) tools. Yes, I posted on this already but since that post I've come up with a new need so I went back and I thought I'd share my experience here.

I now have a FB group that I am in charge of for a short term (2 months). I need to post daily plus other times occasionally. The daily posts should be at a consistent time each day for the others to follow along. The content is already established yet it's better if each piece is shared daily, not all at once or even in chunks. I'm a fairly reliable, organized person so I could try to manage doing that on my own each day but I'm also a tech person who loves to have technology work for me-- after all, isn't that why we have technology? To help make our lives easier? 

So how about one of those SMM tools to help me out? How about scheduled posting options? I'm not the 1st on this frontier to do this so this should have been an easy step, yes? Wrong. 

I wanted a platform that I could use via PC for the majority of the work (copying & pasting in the content) yet also an app so that I could keep tabs on things on the go. First up was HootSuite since I already have an account & they're a big name playing in SMM. I set everything up, it was easy, and all looked good. I scheduled one post into the future for my test just to make sure everything worked before I spent a lot of time adding in other posts. At the appointed time with HootSuite up in one browser window and my FB group up in another I watched and waited for the magic to happen. Magic, yes? No. Fizzle was more like it. I shared my frustration via Twitter:

I didn't have enough characters left in my tweet but the hashtag could have been #fail -- or a few other choice words. jd-Points. I wasn't sure what went wrong -- I'm still not sure -- but I didn't have time to waste and thought possibly it was a HootSuite to FB group issue. So like many in a "want it now" mentality I was ready to move on. 

I messaged my friend, Linda, who has always been a great tech/app resource (retired Librarian who was in on the main floor of 1st two MN "Thing" program offerings). She said she's used Buffer -- which had been mentioned on the Thing 8 page. I like knowing somebody who's had experience with a tool -- especially when I've been experiencing tech fails. jd+Points for recommendations

I checked Buffer out & I was pleased that it met my requirements (web & app versions plus scheduling to FB groups) so I setup an account. I connected all, setup my test post, and all went well. I added in my content for my next 10 posts (amount allowed for a free acct). So fingers crossed that the rest goes well. Oh and the app-- I can easily see my scheduled posts plus make any adjustments if/as needed. jd+Points