Rudaí 23 #thing22: Technology on the go

Mobile phone technology has advanced quickly over the past twenty years and I am constantly amazed by everything I can do with my smartphone. The apps on my phone inform me about weather forecasts, track the arrival time of my buses, soundtrack and map out my journeys and connect me to local and world events. As part of the Rudaí 23 course I have also downloaded the Pinterest, LinkedIn, Instragram, Flickr and Google apps so I have no excuse to be idle or bored ever again!

A mobile app I use regularly is the Fingal Library app, which was launched this year for Fingal County Council public library users. It's one of the few services available in desktop and mobile device versions that I actually prefer to access on my phone because the mobile version is so well designed. It's great to be able to access Fingal's library service at the touch of a button - unlike the desktop version I don't have to enter in my library card and pin number every time I log in. Through the app you can check and renew your current loans, reserve books, find your local library and discover upcoming library events. Fingal libraries have incredible eResources and you can access eBooks, eMagazines, audiobooks and online databases through the app. You can also view the Fingal Libraries Facebook and Twitter pages, or read the Fingal Libraries blog. The best function available through the app is the barcode scan. This allows you to scan the barcode of a book and then shows you if the book is available to borrow in any of the Fingal libraries. So, if you spot a new title in a bookshop you'd like to read, you can check its availability in the Fingal library catalogue, reserve it if it is available and save yourself the cost of buying the book! How clever is that?

I don't use this app for work, but I can see how the development of a library app would be beneficial for the academic library I work in. Students could easily update their loans, reserve books and access the library's online resources with a specially designed Cregan library app. It would be an effective way to promote library events, to highlight the library's social media accounts and to make reviews of new books or library services available.

I mainly use my mobile phone for work purposes when tweeting from library conferences and seminars. I find Twitter an excellent way to connect with other attendees and to follow their opinions and comments throughout each session. If I am tweeting about a presentation from my phone, I find that I listen more carefully and engage more deeply with the content than I otherwise would. Twitter enables me to promote the event and the tweets act as a record of the day's events which can be read over afterwards. A member of the library team used her phone to tweet out photographs of the library's Culture Night events in September. This worked really well to promote the event and connect with visitors on the night and I would be happy to use Twitter on my phone in a similar way at future library events. Other than using Twitter on my phone for work purposes, I have been known to check my work emails using mobile apps on days that I'm not working. I feel that this is a dangerous habit to develop however, as work/life balance is important and I strongly feel that your professional and leisure time shouldn't mix. I didn't buy my first mobile phone until I was in college and I'm often torn between awe at everything my mobile phone connects me to and a resentment at the intrusive elements and disconnectedness that mobile technology has introduced into my life and into modern life in general.

We don't use beacons in either of the library settings I work in. My immediate concern when reading about the use of beacons in libraries is that users would be bombarded with unwelcome messages or that their personal user information would be shared without their consent. A scene from the dystopian science fiction film 'Minority Report' immediately came to mind in which shoppers are addressed by name as they pass advertisements which have access to their personal data!

However, as I read the library journal article about the use of beacons in libraries it was reassuring to learn that library users would not automatically receive messages through the service as soon as they stepped into a library. Personally I'm not sure about how I would feel about receiving personalised messages in the library - part of the enjoyment I get out of visiting a library is the feeling I get of escaping from the world outside. Libraries have also recently offered users more privacy in their borrowing choices in the shape of self-service machines so these personalised messages will seem like a step backwards to some patrons. Saying that, the article clarifies that patrons must actively choose to receive messages from the two Beacon services examined. They have to download an app to receive messages through BluuBeam and with Capira Mobile they are prompted to opt in or out of the beacon service. It would be a powerful way to highlight library events and services to users who have signed up and would enable libraries to track user behaviour to better inform library layouts and functions. As the use of smartphones by users becomes every more ubiquitous, it would be a more effective way of communicating with users rather than through library emails, newsletters or posters. It is vital that the user's private information be protected and therefore essential that libraries adopting the technology would have a clear privacy policy that breaks down how patron information is being collected, retained and used.

I looked at the 23 Mobile Things course and found that many of the modules have either already been covered in this course, or that I am already familiar with the module content. The module covering digital storytelling could be interesting however and relevant to educational initiatives in Fingal's public libraries, so once I've finally completed the Rudaí 23 course (and recovered sufficiently!) I will look more closely at that specific module.