Mobile Apps–Based Applications in Libraries and Information Centers: A Systematic Review of the Literature and Future Research Agendas

Abstract

Due to the worldwide rapid adoption of mobile-based applications in libraries to foster the delivery of information services on mobile devices of library users, there are vast and growing collections of peer-reviewed research and conference papers available in various online databases. Analyzing the literature related to mobile-based library services is one method to conduct future research to enhance library collections and services in the digital age. The primary goal of this paper is to review the most relevant literature in the field to better understand these previous research works, identify trends and to determine the research gaps for future studies. A comprehensive and systematic review of the literature on mobile-based applications in libraries and information centres of peer-reviewed research papers, and conference proceedings published in online databases (ProQuest-LISA and Web of Science) during the last seven years (2015–2022) was conducted for critical analysis and to address the present trends of mobile-based applications in these studies. We identified that many studies have described the use of mobile apps–based applications like Mobile Online Public Access Catalogue (MOPAC), Mobile websites, Mobile databases, WhatsApp, SMS, RSS, and Quick Response (QR) Codes in the enhancement of library collections and services around the globe. We observed that 75.93% of documents were published as research articles, and 42.59% of publications were identified under the two authorship patterns. Also, the authors investigated the current and future state of the research in this field by synthesizing the results of published high-quality experimental studies and systematic mapping studies on related disciplines. We hope that this study will be helpful for librarians and information professionals to better understand and implement the applications of mobile technologies for enhancement of library collections and services in the virtual world.