This document discusses how libraries can provide mobile services to patrons. It defines key terms related to mobile technology like smartphones and the mobile web. It provides statistics on mobile phone and internet use that demonstrate the opportunity for libraries. It then describes different approaches libraries can take to create a mobile web experience, including apps, mobile-optimized websites, and screenshots of existing library interfaces. It also lists examples of specific mobile activities libraries can offer like accessing email, books, audiobooks, and more through a phone.

1. On the Move with the Mobile Web:
Libraries and Mobile Technologies
KEY TERMS
 Smartphone: a cell phone with computing capabilities
 Mobile Web: the World Wide Web accessed through a mobile device
INTERESTING FACTS
 50% of the world’s population, 3.3 billion people, have mobile phone subscriptions.
 84% of U.S. residents have mobile phones, but a limited number of people use them
to browse the internet.
 For those that do browse the internet…a whopping 74% of Generation Y , 51% of Gen
X, and 35% of Young Boomers use their phones for sending or receiving text-
messages (Forrester’s North American Technographics Benchmark Survey 2007),
which has huge implications for library mobile functions.
CREATING THE MOBILE WEB EXPERIENCE
“Mobile Alerts” Apps Mobile HTML Transcoders Mobile-Only Developer Sites
http://www.winksite.com
www.mozes.com www.skweezer.net http://www.mofuse.com
www.broadtexter.com www.mowser.com http://www.zinadoo.com
http://www.mtld.mobi
Additional Screenshots of Mobile Library Interfaces:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/users_lib/
Shanna Caines, Mary Chu, Darlene Davis, Charlie Terng
On The Move With The Mobile Web Page 1

2. MOBILE WEB ACTIVITIES
Yahoo! Go Text Yourself ListenUp!
Yahoo! Mail, Flickr, etc. www.yelp.com http://tuned.mobi
http://mobile.yahoo.com/go http://library.simmons.edu http://m.npr.org
http://search.overdrive.com
E-Books QR Codes http://mundu.com
http://m.mobipocket.com (mobile) www.semapedia.org
http://plkr.org (for PDAs) http://semacode.com/tag Get Ringtones
http://search.overdrive.com http://phonezoo.com
http://www.gutenberg.org Visit the Library
http://www.dailylit.com www.bsu.edu/libraries/mobile Group Texting
www.bluepulse.com
Audiobooks DCPL iPhone App website: www.joopz.com
http://librivox.org http://dclibrarylabs.org/ www.mozes.com
http://netlibrary.com www.broadtexter.com
http://search.overdrive.com
Rutgers University on iTunes: http://itunes.rutgers.edu/
Features specific lectures, information on campus life, information on Rutgers Athletics,
information on Rutgers Admissions, etc.
Google Voice: http://www.google.com/voice
Allows users to choose an available US phone number. Calls to that number are forwarded to
a phone number or numbers that the user already has. Inbound and domestic outbound calls
from the Google Voice number are free of charge. International calls are billed according to a
posted Google Voice schedule.
Text search terms to
Yahoo! (http://mobile.yahoo.com/search) or
Google (http://www.google.com/mobile/products/sms.html#p=default)
Shanna Caines, Mary Chu, Darlene Davis, Charlie Terng
On The Move With The Mobile Web Page 2