Thing 22 - lets get mobile!

We've been very involved in mobile technology to a certain degree recently.  We invested in mobile devices last year and staff were trained on the use of iPads, Samsung Galaxy tablets, kindle fires, Kobo and Hudls.  The training focuses on the basic applications and the main functions of each as well as some grounding in social media.  This has allowed us to offer basic sessions helping the public get to grips with their new devices.  My team and I had been offering iPad sessions for a few years but it's been good to have an overview of different devices and to have other libraries in our authority offer these as well.  We've also been able to use these sessions to show how to use our own e-resources as we feel that as with many of these things it's far simpler to show it working than to talk about it.  

We have free wifi in all of our libraries and the use of mobile technology really has meant that we're not as aware of those using our services as we traditionally were before.  That's not a bad influence, but it does mean we need to think of other ways to approach our users than we traditionally would and so the beacon idea may well be an option we'd consider.  We have merged with customer services and some of our libraries are now within shared facilities but it hasn't been an easy task to persuade people coming into use council services to also consider libraries as having something to offer them - this might be a way to do that.

We're also always considering ways to engage with readers and I can see potential applications for Gum.  I had fun adding a plaintive request from a parent for Little Red Tractor to hide permanently to one of my son's favourite books!  It would be great to think we could have readers adding reviews to books that would be available by scanning them but I think there is a concern without moderation so it would certainly have to have careful consideration.  I can see it being hugely popular if it could be moderated in some way for the children's summer reading challenge - it would certainly increase the digital offer and interest some of our less engaged children.