Lisa A. Raney

Last night, I downloaded Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County's App to my Android phone. I might just be still enamoured with my smart phone, but I think the app, which is offered through Boopsie, is fantastic. It is so much easier to use than trying to navigate the library's website with my phone. I even downloaded OverDrive to my phone and have started to download e-Books, which I had tried but had been unable to do when going through the library's site on my phone because the app is that much simpler and faster.

I would like to say a few words:

Catalog Search

It is wonderful to have the library catalog so close at hand, although this might be librarian bias. However, it would be really nice to have advanced searching options or ways to limit the results after the search has been ran. In short, I miss the traditional OPAC.

For example, my best friend is getting married this summer and we are still planning for decorations and the cake. Naturally, I need some books from the library to help plan. I ran a search for "wedding" in the Google-like search box on the app. The results are a mixed bag of e-resources, books, CDs, and other materials. This isn't terrible, but I would like to have more control over my searching. Even when doing a seach for "wedding decorations" or "wedding decor", I am unable to limit my search results by format.

Final verdict? The catalog search on Cincy Library app works best when searching for a known item.

Log-In

I ran into this problem when using OverDrive and using downloadables, and it might be more of a personal pet peeve than anything else. The system had me log in with my account number and pin on at least 3 separate occasions. I've had this happen at the Library site also when using My Account and placing holds. This might not actually be too bad, considering that the multiple log-ins do verify that the user is who they say they are. On the other hand, multiple log-ins pose the risk of potentially compromising personal information.

[See also: this blog about multiple log-ins from a medical librarian's POV.]

This one is a toss up.

Ucheck

I like the idea of this, which is that the user can check out items using their smart phone without the library having to install special equipment. (Although if don't have the technology - for e.g., a smart phone, you can't take advantage of this service). I have not tried this nor have I talked to anyone who has, so I cannot comment on how it works.

Like the self check-outs, this does have the same issues of potentially distancing users from the staff. And what will follow will more than likely be the questions from some sectors of, "If we can check out items ourselves, what do we need librarians for?" Like the self check-outs, it will be something that will require instruction on the part of the staff. We see this with the existing self check-outs in libraries and u-scans in grocery stores.

And to answer the question above - there are many, many things that librarians and support staff do - especially these days when budgets dictate that there be fewer people working but always more work.

The nature of the work is changing. It is an exciting change, and I think libraries will do well so long as we listen to the community and stay embedded or become embedded, depending on the library. That is where I see libraries shifting.

Etc.

I think this app is a great step forward and will be telling the students (grades K-8 ) that I work with about it. I think it may come as a pleasant surprise to some. People I talk to who don't work in libraries always seem surprised to hear that libraries offer e-Books and music - so I think this app will be a way to expose them to a number of services that they can take advantage of with their library card.

As I've mentioned, I haven't had this app for very long so these are just a few initial thoughts. I'd love to hear your comments.