Abstract
In the summer of 2010, the California Digital Library (CDL) undertook a mobile device user research project to understand how the proliferation of mobile devices with internet access amongst the general public and the explosion of mobile tools and products in higher education affected CDL constituents and services. CDL wanted to understand if they would need to support users in a mobile capacity. In order to answer these objectives, findings from online surveys as well as in-person interviews were analyzed. General findings revealed that while mobile devices played a large role in con- stituents’ personal lives, it was not a device that they turned to when taking part in their academic work. This conclusion lead CDL to develop a mobile strategy that involved building a mobile tracking and evaluation infrastructure to ensure continued assessment and monitoring of mobile usage and trends among their users.
Highlights
MethodologyThe California Digital Library (CDL) serves the ten campus libraries of the University of California (UC)
The study authors report that their subjects often found using the internet from a mobile device frustrating because the experience is different than using the internet on a full computer
■ many use cellular networks to connect to the internet rather than WiFi, which complicates accessing authenticated library resources
Summary
The California Digital Library (CDL) serves the ten campus libraries of the University of California (UC). CDL licenses and builds digital tools, services, and collections that support UC academic users in their scholarly pursuits. Academic users are defined as students, researchers and faculty. In the summer of 2010, CDL undertook a mobile device user research project to understand how the proliferation of these devices as well as mobile tools and products in higher education (HE) and libraries affected CDL constituents and services. Based on findings from this inquiry, specific and general strategic recommendations were developed in order to guide CDL in supporting and developing mobile access to its services. A second survey, distributed to a random sampling of the academic population at UC Berkeley, resulted in 286 responses. Planning for a mobile future: case study from CDL Rachael Hu and Alison Meier Serials – 24(3) supplement, November 2011 were a part of the survey and interview process. Future work would ideally capture data from all UC campuses and constituent groups
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