New Interfaces Bring Catalogs, Books to iPhone, Other Mobile Devices

Josh Hadro -- Library Journal, 02/06/2009

• Mobile-optimized Book Search from Google
• Library catalog interfaces from DCPL and NYPL
• Second generation of mobile interface for WorldCat.org

Though most usage statistics still peg mobile browsing percentage in the single digits of a site's overall traffic, new development efforts aimed at these users suggest that percentage won't stay small for long.

As LJ  reported yesterday, Google has released a mobile-optimized Book Search interface, making it easy for users with certain phones to access 1.5 million public domain books scanned from libraries around the world. Using Google's Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology, the content of these "free books" will be available as reflowable plain text, along with the option to view the original scanned page images in the event of errors in the OCR-scanned text. Currently, the interface only works on the iPhone and smartphones running Google’s own Android mobile platform, though more may be added in the future. As Google rep Jennie Johnson said, “ultimately, we envision a future where people across the globe can search, discover and access the world’s books from any device.”

Not to be outdone in serving a similar mission, the District of Columbia Public Library (DCPL) and the New York Public Library (NYPL) have been hard at work on their own mobile interface efforts. Also hoping to leverage mobile technology to give more users access to its WorldCat.org database, OCLC recently debuted its second generation mobile access portal.

DCPL pioneers public library mobile design
In recent months several design efforts to serve the smaller mobile form have emerged (see "Focus on the Interface" by Edward Vielmetti, netConnect, October 2008), but this release marks one of the first dedicated mobile apps designed specifically for and by a public library (though the Ann Arbor District Library does have an iPhone-specific web interface to their catalog).

The DCPL app hooks in to the library’s CityCat catalog with a keyword search, and allows patrons to place holds, view available copies, and route items to branches for delivery if they have a DCPL userid and PIN. Users can also see branch location information as well as hours. The app can be downloaded by iPhone users through the iTunes Store.

But that’s not all coming from the DCPL Labs. According to Aaron Schmidt, newly appointed digital initiatives librarian: “What’s even more exciting about this is that it is just the start of our efforts to provide mobile library services to the residents of DC. I have a bunch of notes written about improving the look and behavior of the application, expanding it, and we’re planning a mobile version of the forthcoming DCPL web site.”

NYPL debuts “rough beta” access to catalogs and galleries
Following suit, the NYPL Labs blog announced on January 23 the released of a mobile effort all their own. This endeavor is not an application but rather a redesigned interfaces to two catalogs, LEO (circulating materials) and CATNYP (research collections). 

Search interfaces are also available for NYPL’s digital galleries, and pages on the NYPL web site. As a web layout and not a standalone application, the mobile NYPL site can be used by anyone with a web-enabled phone or device rather than just an iPhone or iPod Touch.

At this stage in the NYPL’s admittedly “rough beta” version of its mobile site, however, patrons are still eventually taken to the standard web interfaces for many tasks. According to the blog post on NYPL Labs, only the CATNYP search “returns results in a mobile-friendly format; for the others, you will be redirected to the ‘regular’ search results pages.” 

Through the site, mobile users can also access information on current exhibits and events at NYPL and branches, and can also access branch location information like maps and hours as with the DCPL iPhone app.

Pilot WorldCat mobile interface marks second effort from OCLC
Taking a broader approach, OCLC has released a new mobile portal to its massive WorldCat.org bibliographic database (a previous experimental mobile site designed specifically to be used on an iPhone was released in August 2008).

This WorldCat mobile interface shows results on the fly as the user types, returning entries for a number of content types like books, visual materials, and sound recordings. The site also allows users to set their location, manually, or automatically on certain GPS-enabled phones. With this information, the site in turn can tap into the WorldCat Registry to direct users to materials at nearby OCLC member library.

WorldCat Mobile is powered by Boopsie, a mobile search provider. According to OCLC, "The pilot will gather data to inform and help shape future mobile access to WorldCat.org. The pilot is now available in the U.S. and Canada and is expected to last 6 months.”