New Summary From CNI: “Multiple Devices and Platforms: Institutional Strategies”

Highlights of a CNI Executive Roundtable that took place at this year’s annual meeting in Baltimore.
From the CNI Web Site:

Teams representing senior level library and IT organizations from 11 institutions described their development of priorities, policies, and strategies related to the multiplicity of devices that members of university communities are bringing to campus.
The report summarizes the discussion and includes perspectives on overall strategies, campus wireless infrastructure, security issues, and geospatially-aware applications and services.

Direct to Report
Here’s One of Several “Perspectives” Discussed in the Report

For existing software vendors in relatively mature markets – for example enterprise management systems or integrated library systems – the creation and marketing of add-on mobile software for various platforms offers a very welcome new revenue source. Campuses are trying to sort out how important these mobile versions of existing services are to their user communities, and are frequently finding out these users believe such mobile versions are not very important.
For example, several roundtable participants argued very cogently that the point of delivering library services to mobile devices is not to re-create the OPAC or the ILS but really primarily about a new and different set of services.
Examples included geo-location-aware mapping services for finding books in the stacks, locations of public workstations that are currently available, quick searching of catalogs and other information interfaces, tours of the library, geo-referenced campus tours and reference services (“what is this building, and why is it named what it is?”) linked to digitized archival materials in the library, booking group study rooms, and access to text-a-librarian services.

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