Joel A. Nichols - iPads® in the Library: Using Tablet Technology to Enhance Programs for All Ages

IPADS IN THE LIBRARY

IPADS IN THE LIBRARY

Using Tablet Technology to Enhance Programs for All Ages

Joel A. Nichols

AN IMPRINT OF ABC-CLIO, LLC

Santa Barbara, California Denver, Colorado Oxford, England

Copyright 2013 by Joel A. Nichols

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Nichols, Joel A.

iPads in the library : using tablet technology to enhance programs for all ages / Joel A. Nichols.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 9781610693479 (hard copy) ISBN 9781610693486 (ebook) 1. LibrariesActivity programs. 2. Multimedia library services. 3. iPad (Computer) 4. Tablet computers. 5. Application softwareDirectories. I. Title.
Z716.33.N527 2013
025.50285dc23 2013007684

ISBN: 9781610693479
EISBN: 9781610693486

17 16 15 14 13 1 2 3 4 5

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This book is printed on acid-free paper

Manufactured in the United States of America

This book is dedicated to my mother, Joanne Beriau Nichols, whose crafty inspiration and commitment to education brought me here.

Contents

Acknowledgments

Thanks to my family, especially my partner, Ray, for his support in completing this project. Thanks, too, to my many colleagues at the Free Library of Philadelphia who supported this book with lots of brainstorms and encouragement.

Introduction: Why iPads in the Library?

Library work takes a diverse set of skills working together in unique combinations, and the iPad makes an excellent flexible and robust companion for many kinds of information work. Librarians have often adopted new technological innovations before their patrons, especially when those technologies strengthen and enhance access to information. But the low-cost, highly attractive, and popular eReader and tablet computer world Kindles, Nooks, Nexus, Galaxy Tabs, iPads, Surfacesare huge hits with consumers, and in this technology, libraries are not as far ahead as we should be. In addition, most of these devices are designed and optimized for individuals to use in very personal ways.

Even more challenging for libraries used to upgrading to the latest versions of Windows on networked, desktop computers, most of these the tablets and eReaders popular among library patrons are powered either by Apples closed operating system for its mobile devices, iOS; or by a version of Android, an operating system developed by Google and used by a variety of third-party manufacturers. Microsoft released its long-awaited tablet, the Microsoft Surface, on February 9, 2013.

In addition, these devices use Wi-Fi or LTE (or both) communication signals and, because they are meant to be carried around, tossed in a backpack, stored in a desk drawer, and even go outside, they cannot be networked the way we are used to. Quite literally, our IT staff has not been trained for this. Nonetheless, iPads are already outselling desktop PCs.

So far, these devices are probably not robust enough to replace desktop computers immediately, but they do offer innovative ways to practice reference services and interact with patrons. And as programming tools, tabletsand iPads in particularare potentially revolutionary.

There are six compelling arguments for iPads in public and school libraries:

1. Flexibility. Tablets are just computers: hardware running various software applications. They are tools to deliver and manage digital information, and although the Android Marketplace and the Apples iTunes App Store claim similar numbers of available apps for sale, the fragmentation of various Android versions running on hardware manufactured by so many different companies means that for any individual Android device, there are fewer applications, or apps, available. Not all versions of Android run on all devices, and because so many different companies make hardware for the Android operating system, there is little or no standardization. And while Apples rigid control over which apps are approved and how these apps interact with their hardware rightly earn it an evil empire reputation, the end product is a robust hardware tool with intuitive apps that interact with each other fairly seamlessly and an enormous selection of apps developed by third-party designers that make your iPad infinitely versatile.

2. Ease of use. Although tablets are similar to desktop computershardware that runs various software programsthe fact that they do not use keyboards and mice means that they are much less conceptual. Users can interact with digital objects almost like they do with physical ones, touching and moving them with their fingers, tapping and/or pressing down to select and navigate menus that are usually much simpler and have fewer options that traditional PC menus. Using these devices is intuitive because of the ways in which they replicate real-world physics with animations and screens that rotate and resize automatically. I have seen everyone, from very young children to seniors to adults with different levels of literacy, dexterity, and mobility, start using them proficiently within a few minutes, particularly if they are already inside a given app. (They can be challenging for people with very low levels of literacy, though.)

3. iPadsand other tabletsare books. Digital books are in libraries and here to stay. These devices represent powerful technologies to deliver books and other textual and visual information on the market. Libraries should have the best and most robust book technologies available. This is the same reason childrens librarians buy reinforced hardcover editions.

4. Relative affordability. iPads are not cheap, often costing hundreds of dollars more than the cheaper Android tablets. But compared against Android tablets, netbooks, and ultrabooks with similar hardware capabilities, they are exactly competitive. For libraries used to buying expensive, 15-inch business-class laptops, iPads are a much cheaper option. Libraries struggling to maintain creaking public PCs probably cannot afford an iPad lab, but purchasing one for roving reference or eBook demos, or pursuing cheaper iPod Touches, which also run iOS, to energize programming might just be a friends group fund-raiser away.

5. iOS and hardware integration. The rigid control on Apples part of limited third-party hardware manufacturers described above also means that librarians are assured that any app from the iTunes store will work on any iOS device. The hardware is designed to interact smoothly with the operating system, and it shows in how intuitive and integrated the design is. See below for additional information about the negative aspects of this rigidity.

6. Popularity and attractiveness to patrons. Libraries will buy and use iPads for the same reasons they buy thousands of copies of 50 Shades of Grey and lend DVDs: patrons want them. Apples astronomical advertising budget means that nearly everyone has seen iPad commercials and magazine ads even if they have not seen one up close. Patrons, especially young ones, are enthusiastic about using iPads. Even if their excitement comes from the fact that it is a trendy lifestyle product, libraries can leverage this excitement into larger programming audiences and more satisfied and happy users.