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ERIC Number: EJ970467
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012-Mar
Pages: 4
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1041-7915
EISSN: N/A
Shaking up Expectations: The OCLS Shake It! App
Shivers, Cassandra
Computers in Libraries, v32 n2 p14-17 Mar 2012
The author, a digital access architect in the information systems department of the Orange County Library System in Florida, was given the challenge of creating a library mobile app around the 2009 holiday season. At that time, Sheri Chambers, digital content manager in the information systems department, and Debbie Moss, assistant director of the Orange County Library System (OCLS), were given iPod touches as gifts and began to get to know the world of iPhone applications. Debbie was particularly struck by the Urbanspoon application, an app that uses a slot-machine system to recommend restaurants based on ratings, location, and type of food. She began considering the possibility of applying the Urbanspoon concept to the creation of a library app. The assignment was to create a search and resource discovery application for mobile devices, using the metaphor of a slot machine with three rotating reels and the shake-it features of iPhones and iPads. This article discusses how the author created the OCLS Shake It! app. When the user shakes the app or taps the Spin button, the app comes up with a combination from the selectors (audience, genre, and format) and makes a request to the database of records from the library catalog for a match. Users can also lock down any or all of a field's selectors for a customized shake or spin to limit their results to, for example, an audience. A web programmer's script determines which of the records are suitable for the app combination and returns a random matching title. This title is displayed to the end user in the app as a tappable link that opens the title in the mobile-friendly version of the catalog. The information in the mobile catalog, which is created by a third party, includes the availability of the title, its shelf location, and a request the title for home delivery option, if the title can be requested.
Information Today, Inc. 143 Old Marlton Pike, Medford, NJ 08055-8750. Tel: 800-300-9868; Tel: 609-654-6266; Fax: 609-654-4309; e-mail: custserv@infotoday.com; Web site: http://infotoday.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Media Staff
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Florida
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A