Reflection Activity #1: your fearless leader responds

[Molly K]

Thought it might be interesting to share my answers to week 1’s reflection activity.

What is the 1st mobile device you owned?

I am pretty sure it was a Nokia 5110, purchased in 2000. I remember it was silver and flat and stuck out of my back pocket. No text messaging, but you could lock it.  Sadly it was stolen after I moved to New Orleans.

What is the 1st mobile device your library owned (if any)?

In 2004  our library got the Alumni Association to purchase Palm Pilots for the reference department.

What changes has your work environment seen regarding mobile technology in the past ten years?

In 2002, there was nothing. By 2004 we were receiving occasional questions about PDAs & PDA resources - enough that we created a Resource Guide about it. By 2007 we had a wireless network, so questions about connecting to that, as well as configuring email on PDAs & phones started to emerge. In 2009 we created a very simple mobile library webpage and changed the name of our Resource Guide from "PDAs" to simply "Mobile." 

Then there’s February 2012: today a student came in, stuck an iPhone with the library catalog pulled up on it under my nose, and asked where the book was located. Last week it was 2 residents, one with a BlackBerry Tablet, one with a Kindle Fire, asking how to connect to the secure wireless network. (Answer: Not yet.) The week before it was configuring and testing how our LibGuides and  Wordpress blog look on a mobile device. The week before that, it was creating a tutorial about accessing Stat!Ref’s books on a tablet.

Some of the changes would be: accelerated use of technology by everyone; challenges in connecting different mobile devices to secure networks, acquiring and applying new skill sets and knowledge in order to provide support for mobile library resources.

Has it affected your library practices or policies?

Yes, definitely. Compared to 10 years ago (when I first started in this biz), library instruction now includes mobile devices, we’ve scrapped the “no phones” policy (though I wish we could keep it for staff meetings sometimes!), have (unofficial) library liaisons for mobile operating systems, and generally try to stay ahead or at least in line with the game. It seems to pay off. When folks have a question about their smartphone, we like to think they ask us first.