EDITOR'S NOTES
Mixed Metaphors
by
Dick Kaser
Though it may actually be true that there’s an app for everything, it’s becoming increasingly clear that there’s also more than one way to make an app.
About this time last year, when we started to discuss the theme for this issue, the editors felt confident that “mobility” would still be a hot topic, but we weren’t so sure whether the conversation would be more about optimizing existing websites for better mobile access or creating device-resident apps for phones and tablets. Or, would the new HTML5 standard have, by now, created a whole new landscape?
The answer is self-evidenced by the stories appearing in this issue—it’s “Yes!” to all of the above.
As libraries continue to consider how to best serve mobile users, all options remain open; not only that, but everything old remains fair game for revitalization in the portable device space.
In one of the case studies appearing in this issue, Jason Clark likens his BookMeUp app to a mobile reader’s advisory service, harkening back to the early 20th century to make a point about how libraries can continue to serve readers in the mobile age.
Author Stephan Spitzer discusses how to port your electronic resources portal from being an oasis for desk-locked computer users to being a roving port of call for the device users on-the-fly.
And Berika S. Williams walks you through the basics for downsizing your basic library website into something that plays just as well on small screens.
So, is the future about browsers or apps? Yes. And are libraries going to be there? Of course.
P.S. Look for us at ALA in Anaheim this June and at SLA in Chicago in July.
Dick Kaser, Executive Editor
kaser@infotoday.com
|
