Colleagues/ I am greatly interested in learning of Any/All other current or planned mobile access initiatives that offer / will offer access to databases / OPACs / e-collections / etc. Thanks ! /Gerry LJ > Summon and EBSCOhost To Debut New Mobile Interfaces Josh Hadro / Library Journal / 11-4-2009 [snip] As if smartphones weren't already hard enough to put down, new, mobile-optimized interfaces are coming for both Summon, Serials Solutions' discovery platform, and a number of EBSCO resources. The Summon mobile interface should provide students and researchers most of the same features and options as the regular search interface, including access to both local materials and electronic resources available from the library. The mobile search site will debut today in time for the opening of the Charleston Conference in Charleston, SC. The mobile search option is an alternative interface, not a separate downloadable app. [snip] Others offering access to library content are also gearing up for mobile access. EBSCO will soon release EBSCOhost Mobile; ... , "the interface will include many features for an enhanced mobile experience, is optimized for internet-enabled handheld devices, and qualified for all the major SmartPhones ... ." After Mobile, The Flood So, will researchers incorporate this into regular use, or only when other tools are not available to them? Gerry McKiernan, mobile device trend-watcher, science and technology subject librarian, and associate professor at Iowa State University, said that it may take a little while for these services to be fully embraced, but that their day will inevitably come. "At this point [mobile-specific searches] are supplemental, or impulse, such that if you're on the road and you want to search a particular resource ... you could do that," he said. But, he added, "The mobile phone is becoming an all-in-one tool for a variety of functions," and as that happens, users will come to expect some kind of mobile interface to the tools they're grown accustomed to using. McKiernan also said a number of Pew Internet reports and dispatches indicating the inexorable march of progress on the mobile front can't be ignored by content providers and other vendors. Pew Internet Report: Wireless Internet Use The World In 2020: The Mobile Device Will Be The Primary Connection Tool To The Internet Currently, handheld library service is represented by a patchwork of mobile-enabled OPACs, streamlined library site stylesheets, and text-message services ... . A frequent complaint is that these services often draw users in ... only to lead them to other site subsections or resources that are unwieldy on a smaller screen, or entirely unusable. As more content providers embrace the mobile medium, however, libraries will be better able to offer both smartphone users and traditional users an equal level of service. Links To The Article Full Text And Noted Services And Reports Available At [ http://tinyurl.com/y9oulq5 ] NB: If You Are Aware Of Similar Mobile Initiatives Please Note As A Comment On The Posting] Thanks For Your Assistance! Regards, /Gerry Gerry McKiernan Associate Professor Science and Technology Librarian Iowa State University Library Ames IA 50011 gerrymck@iastate.edu There Is No Answer, Only Solutions / Olde Irish Saying The Future Is Already Here, It's Just Not Evenly Distributed Attributed To William Gibson, SciFi Author / Coined 'Cyberspace