Institutional Support for Mobile Apps

This article offers an overview of broad institutional and support concerns a library may want to consider when adopting mobile technologies, specifically EBSCOhost Mobile 2.0 platform, bibliographic manager apps Mendeley and Zotero, and Spashtop’s Whiteboard. It offers caveats and helpful hints in coordinating between library departments and IT, including networking and classroom support. The article is aimed at the general user who is somewhat familiar with a range of library and information science topics, but may be a novice user of mobile technology. The article is intended to prove useful to administrators or department leaders who may be unsure as to the broader implications in support, marketing, and training that may be necessitated by the integration of these mobile technologies. Articles in this series include in-depth reviews of particular applications as well as explorations of wider issues in app development and requirements of both vendor and institutional support in libraries.

This issue of The Charleston Advisor includes comprehensive reviews on the newly launched EBSCOhost Mobile 2.0 platform, bibliographic manager apps Mendeley and Zotero, and Spashtop’s Whiteboard application. For the institution trying to get started with apps like these, or the professional tasked with coordinating their use amongst the library’s different departments, a big picture is probably helpful. It can feel a bit daunting at first. (Editor’s Note: The Whiteboard review will appear in our January issue.)

All of the apps reviewed in this edition have great potential for use in a library environment if key considerations for integration and deployment are considered. We use all of these applications at our library and all of them come with their own set of unique concerns and questions when coordinating their use at an institutional level. In this article I will discuss some of the questions, concerns, challenges, and considerations an institution should keep in mind when selecting and deploying the use of applications.