Research databases in a mobile computing environment Ya Wang Electronic Collections Coordinator San Francisco State University San Diego, CA January 9, 2011

Table of Contents Mobile computing environment Database mobile interfaces from vendors SFSU Xerxes database mobile interface Discovery service products’ mobile interfaces Statistics & discussion

Source: State of the Internet…Mobile Will Be Bigger Than Desktop Internet in 5 Years

Source: Mobile Internet – Unprecedented Early Stage Growth

Mobile Browser Users Source:

Mobile learning on campuses 2010 Horizon Report The portability of mobile devices and their ability to connect to the Internet almost anywhere makes them ideal as a store of reference materials and learning experiences 2011 Horizon Report Preview It has become common practice to develop web content that seamlessly adjusts for optimal display on whichever of these devices is used to access it, increasing the proportion of Internet applications and information that is accessible to mobile users. Source:

Library mobiles in practice Hours & locations Catalog search Reference services Computer and study room reservations Library news Research databases

Database vendors have started to provide mobile search interfaces

List of databases that have mobile interfaces (not complete) Artstor Cambridge Journals Online EBSCO Databases IEEE Xplore JSTOR PubMed Wilson databases

SFSU is using Xerxes is an interface application. It can serve as the user interface to Metalib, Worldcat, and a growing number of other discovery systems via an evolving plug-in architecture. The latest version of Xerxes recognizes mobile devices and adjust its display, giving users slimmed-down versions of the search and results pages specifically designed for the smaller display. Benefits of this method 1.Consistent mobile search and display pages for all databases 2.Our users are familiar with this interface 3.Provide mobile presence for databases whose vendors don’t have mobile interfaces Source:

SFSU “Find Articles” mobile presence

Discovery service products’ mobile interfaces examples –Summon (Serials Solutions) –Primo (Ex Libris)

Summon

Primo

Statistics & Discussion Among total mobile site clicks, 14% are database clicks. Patrons are using our mobile website to search databases. For the first semester, usage is roughly 8 to 9 clicks per day. This is still low usage. Who are the possible users? - People in transit - People on breaks with no computer available - People with no time to go to the library Need better authentication system, single sign on If mobile computing is truly the wave of the future, we should start offering this service from the beginning. We need to keep mobile users connecting to the library to do research. Let’s be on top of it.