Wednesday, August 15, 2012

The New York Time's bestseller list for August 6, 2012,  includes the book The Mobile Wave by Michael Saylor. Although I've only begun to read the book, I am fascinated!  Let me share an excerpt from page 4:

          "A new technology is often perceived as the linear extension of the previous one, and this leads us to
           believe the new technology will fill the same roles--just a little faster or a little smaller or a little lighter.
           Every now and again, a truly disruptive technology appears and cause major changes to business,
           society, or economies. ...Mobile computing is this type of disruptive technology."

He defines mobile computing as tablet computers and cell phones that contain apps.

We all definitely know these items have changed our own lives. They have changed the lives of the people we serve as well. Calendars, cameras, camcorders, recorders, email, social networking, maps, and etc are all on our phones now.

How are we using these technologies to serve our patrons? How could we use these technologies? Please share your thoughts.

6 comments:

  1. Don't forget if you want to discuss this in depth and in person that the theme of this year's Tenn-Share DataFest is Mobile! Oct 27 @ Nashville Public Library

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  2. Great! I do plan on being there.

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  3. I purchased a special barcode scanner that will read a patron's library barcode number from their smartphone. No more lost cards - we just scan the barcode from their phone. It is great for the teens who always forget their cards but NEVER forget their cell phones.

    Essy Day
    Clinton Public Library

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  4. One thing that needs to be done immediately is to make our collections as seam free to various mobile devices as possible. Some library collections are easier to access than others. Access to librarian help and librarian resources is a must too! There is so much information out there and much of it misleading or at the least, unhelpful. Libraries and librarians (and library assistants, such as I am) need to be on the forefront of getting information organized, cataloged, and available without a lot of grief.

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  5. I think the disruptive technology in question is the internet. Mobile devices are just a long for the ride. When internet happened (slowly), it was revolutionary. Cell phones happened they felt like a pleasant distraction. Once the internet was on a cell phone though, we weren't in Kansas anymore.

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  6. Stopping by on my fall break to catch up on your blog! I thought Dr. Melton did a fabulous job on this topic at DataFest. We do need to know where to find the tools that will help our patrons work "smarter, not harder" by using what they already have. I am interested in the challenge that patrons with low SES and smaller libraries face in gaining and providing equitable access to these tools.

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