Library Services Through Mobile Apps- Development and use by Indian Libraries

Abstract

This paper aims to report on the adoption and use of mobile apps, including in-house and available in the app store by the Indian libraries for carrying out library services. An online survey was conducted to collect data from 229 LIS professionals from divergent types of libraries across the country. The study found that only 27 libraries developed their dedicated library mobile apps for catering services to the patron. The primary services offered were e-resources facility (92.60%), reference query (88.88%) and SMS alert (77.77%). The study also found the effective integration of social media apps by the libraries for sharing information regarding library services (74.67%) and upcoming events (68.12%), highlighting the library collection (62%), reference advisory (55.45%) and streaming videos lively (26.20%). The most used social media apps were WhatsApp (69.43%), Facebook (66.37%) and YouTube (65.93%). However, the unavailability of apps in offline mode and storage problems were the major hurdles cited by the professionals in using apps. The study results suggest opportunities for libraries to develop their library app to satisfy users’ information needs.