There’s an App for That! Libraries and Mobile Technology: An Introduction to Public Policy Considerations / Timothy Vollmer [ALA Office Of Information Technology Policy / Policy Brief No. 3, June 2010] As the information revolution continues to unfold, libraries will experiment withmobile devices and services to support the information needs of their users whereverthey may be. The adoption of mobile technology alters the traditional relationships between libraries and their users and introduces novel challenges to reader privacy. At the same time, the proliferation of mobile devices and services raises issues of access to information in the digital age, including content ownership and licensing, digital rights management, and accessibility. This policy brief explores some of these issues, and is intended to stimulate further community discussion and policy analysis [snip] Enabling Libraries to Provide Expanded Services to Users Libraries can better serve their users by embracing the growing capabilities of mobile technology. They can promote and expand their existing services by offering mobile access to their websites and online public access catalogs; by supplying on-the-go mobile reference services; and by providing mobile access to e-books, journals, video, audio books, and multimedia content. [snip] Mobile devices and services therefore provide tremendous flexibility for those who wish to take advantage of library services. With a simple 3G connection, a user lying on a beach can access e-books and multimedia content via his or her local library. If a smartphone can always access a network, content can be continually streamed to the device over the network, providing content on demand and making it unnecessary to maintain a local copy of the material. By going mobile, then, a library takes a giant step toward becoming a round-the-clock service. [snip] Conclusions and Recommendations Mobile technology holds great promise for enabling libraries to provide enhanced services in a form users increasingly are demanding. If this promise is to be fully realized, however, libraries will need to conduct analyses and make smart decisions to address the issues outlined above, support staff education and explore partnerships and new funding models, and be prepared to compromise with respect to their traditional information delivery models. [more] Full Text Available From [ http://tinyurl.com/294xr46 ] BTW: TV > Thanks For The Acknowledgment [:-) !!! Thanks TO Gary Price / ResourceShelf / For The HeadsUp !!! eNjOy /Gerry Gerry McKiernan Associate Professor Science and Technology Librarian Iowa State University Library Ames IA 50011 Follow Me On Twitter > http://twitter.com/GMcKBlogs

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