The Zombie Stack Exchanges That Just Won't Die
Many libraries have their own app for Android/iOS/etc. I wonder what benefits they see. Is it little more than promotional in nature or does it provide genuine functionality? And if the latter, is it more for the user-facing tasks (e.g. placing holds on books), or is it more for improving management of the library (by having more information about how the library is being used)?
I understand this may vary based on the individual app but one would think that most of these apps have a great number of features in common. Things like locations, hours, phone numbers, calendars, catalogue searches, placing holds, etc, etc should be par for the course where these apps are concerned.
Kode
I think about someone asking this same question 10-15 years ago about whether a library needs a website. Now you'd laugh. Of course. Patrons need to look up hours, titles, reserve books, etc. How could there not be a website.
Apps are starting to be the same thing. People want to be able to use "native clients" to do things whether it is order takeout or check the movie listings. While I don't think library apps are common yet, I do think they are the future.
Hm, such a negatively-phrased question.
Considerable debate exists in developer communities about the benefits of apps over well-designed mobile websites. Reasons to lean toward an app include:
Current consensus as best I can tell is that a mobile-friendly website (whether mobile-specific or created via responsive design techniques) is probably the right place to start.
The advantage of a native mobile app is simply that more users on a wider variety of devices can complete the tasks they want to accomplish at your library. So they can check out books, search the catalog, find out your hours, etc. all from the convenience of their mobile phone. Many of these tasks are difficult if not impossible for mobile users on a desktop website; mobile screens are so small & struggle with basic navigational features (tiny link text, drop-down menus) that most would give up rather than continue on their way.
I think the real question is: what is the advantage of a native library app over a mobile website. That answer is less clear. The tasks that both Kode and Jeanne name (locations, hours, phone numbers, calendars, catalogue searches, placing holds, & look up hours, titles, reserve books) do not require any special native technology. A mobile website would suit these fine.
In general, I don't think a native app is a good choice if you're not going to use the advantages of the native platform: are you planning to tap into device APIs? Do you need persistent storage (hint: none of the actions above do)? Would the app often be used offline? Does your site use the camera? If the answer to those is no, then you're creating more problems that solutions with an app. App's have to versioned: you'll need at least an Android and an iOS one, but other OSes can always gain market share (Windows Phone, BlackBerry, etc.) and backwards compatibility can break with OS upgrades. A mobile website renders across devices fine; one could, for instance, employ jQuery Mobile to ensure that a site runs across all major devices. You also need to pay fees to have apps listed in proprietary, closed markets like the App Store whereas the web is open and accessible to all.
Furthermore, HTML5 is rapidly narrowing the gap between native applications on both desktop and mobile operating systems and the capabilities of the web. I would also argue that the skills for developing mobile-optimized websites (generally HTML, CSS, and JavaScript) are more common than the ones for native apps (mostly Objective C on iOS, mostly Java on Android, though both can use WebKit views to run apps written in web languages like the Facebook iOS app does).
I know it's awful to say "let me answer the question you should have asked" but I feel like the difference between apps & websites often goes unarticulated. A List Apart has a nice overview of the differences for those who want to look into this further.
I would think it would be a great advantage to those using a smart phone to use the library's catalog. Currently, if you don't have mobile friendly site, users need to pinch and zoom just to interact with the library. A mobile friendly site can alleviate this with the most essential information quickly, hours of operation, current events, catalog link, reference question link. An app creates an advantage since some of it can work offline, it can more easily remember the patron information, and it can utilize other apps on your phone, like a camera app to scan a barcode (browsing in a bookstore, wondering if your library has the book, find out in a snap...) It is a convenience. However, library app vendors can vary in price and in work on your part. I like LibraryThing for Libraries LibraryAnywhere app. It is very inexpensive and has great functionality. It is also a great promotional tool to have your library brand as an app on a patron's phone.
the promotional aspect shouldn't be discounted or considered just a vanity item to disdain, though obviously if the app is so buggy it crashes phones, etc. than the promotional aspect is absolutely negated.
i think the comparison @Jeanne Boyarsky makes to library websites a decade ago is a good one. all signs point to more and more people accessing the internet via their smartphones and not with more-traditional desktop computers. i don't think there's anything lost with having a basic but stable appthat just has basic library info on it. with thime, it will grow and on the meantime it shows to patrons that libraries are listenng to their patrons and are moving with the times, etc etc etc.
Great discussion. I think a great mobile strategy requires both apps and html right now...
One interesting, enduring thing about apps -- from a user's standpoint they limit choice in a powerful way. They are what they are, and little or nothing else. That's attractive to a lot of folks, including me sometimes.
When I was with the Poudre River Public Library District, we went with a vendor (Boopsie) to launch a cross-platform site quickly while we investigated mobile web approaches. We found that the greatest use was for catalog searches. We were pleasantly surprised, because Boopsie had said that static information searches (like hours and locations) were the most popular elsewhere.