This is part of a series of blog posts on the end of project fact finding survey.
Interestingly, when asked if their library was considering using mobile technologies to support any aspect of the service or resources provision in future, less people responded yes (81.8%) than in the first survey (90.4%). This still shows the majority intend to incorporate mobile technologies in future plans, though may represent a slight decrease in planning (or could be due to a different sample of respondents.
Is your library/information service considering using mobile technologies to support any aspect of the service or resource provision in future?
Many of those who planned to use mobile technologies in this way in future did not yet know how they planned to use them (probably a sensible approach with things changing so rapidly!). Those who had started planning for future included the following (in order of popularity):
- Roving support (using tablets for reference enquiries, demonstrations and supporting teaching)
- Mobile catalogue
- Mobile app
- Mobile website
- Mobile access to resources
- SMS
- Loaning mobile devices
- Social media
- QR codes
- Mobile web chat/enquiry service
- Augmented reality
- Strategy development
- Near Field Communication/Radio-Frequency Identification
- Supporting Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)
- Bibliographic management
Many of these are similar to the existing or current m-library initiatives, though it is interesting to note a few additions to the usual list such as mobile web chat, strategy development, near field communication and radio-frequency identification, supporting bring your own device, and bibliographic management.
Could the difference in the first response and the second also be that during the time of the survey they had moved from planning to implementing?
Indeed – could be that people have moved from planning to implementation, though I would imagine many would still also be planning future support for mobile technologies.