Libraries Offering Mobile Services/Content

[Ellyssa Kroski]

Hi Everyone, I'm gearing up for a talk on Libraries and Mobile next month at the NEASIS&T Mobile Mania event in Boston, and I'd love to hear from libraries who are offering mobile services, mobile instructional content, offering SMS reference, have mobile websites, OPACS, etc. If your library is using mobile tech to offer such services to patrons, please email me at ellyssakroski [at] yahoo.com and let me know what you're doing, and I'd love to include a quote from you in my presentation.

And for anyone else who is interested in what's happening in this area, I'll be making my presentation available on Slideshare at: http://www.slideshare.net/ellyssa
Thanks!!! (Please excuse cross postings of this!)

[Lisa Nash]

Hi Ellyssa, this sounds like a really good conference so I will be interested to see your presentation. Our library (which is the head office library for staff supporting schools) and our school libraries are providing audio books via ipods. Mainly targetting students who have disabilities (visual) or have reading difficulties. With the students who have reading difficulties the ipod audiobook is paired with the physical book to help the student learn how to read by hearing the words while tracking them in the book. This service is very popular. One of the problems we initially found is that of copyright as many online suppliers will not allow a purchased audiobook in mp3 format to be loaned out to borrowers. For example downloading an MP3 or MP4 from Itunes is okay for each individuals personal use but we as a library cannot download this and then loan it out (unless the resource specifically allowed such use). However Audible .com is one supplier that will allow the audiobook to be loaned out. So we have an account with audible .com and that is working well.