My first Saturday session was one the best ones so far. Hosted by the RUSA/MARS Committee, four speakers talked about ways they implemented mobile technology into their services to cater to users on the go.
Most of the ideas revolved around the problem on what libraries should focus on when building their Web presence for mobile devices. Users who use library services this way usually look for quick information such as opening hours, phone numbers, locations, etc., whereas catalog and database access is still limited.
Some thought was also given to the way data is pulled from the regular Web page to the mobile page, and how the latter should be coded. Images and unnecessary HTML code should be cut out so the mobile page displays well across a broad variety of platforms (iPhone, Android).
Interactive pages that display which libraries are currently open, how many computers are available in the computer lab and so on is also interesting to think about, as well as the idea to use QR codes, which can be scanned with cell phones to retrieve information.
Oh, and another highlight, of course, was Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse with one of my professors.
If you will excuse me now, I need to shop for new feet and possibly a new shoulder.