Mobile Technologies & Academics: Do Students Use Mobile Technologies in Their Academic Lives and are Librarians Ready to Meet this Challenge?

Abstract

In this paper we report on two surveys and offer an introductory plan that librarians may use to PURPOSE OF THE STUDYSimilar to colleagues in all types of libraries around the world, librarians at Utah State University (USU) want to take advantage of opportunities to provide information resources and library services via mobile devices. Observing growing popularity of mobile, Internetcapable telephones and computing devices, USU librarians assume that at least some users would welcome the ability to use such devices to connect to library resources. To find out what mobile services or vendors' applications USU students would be likely to use, we conducted a needs assessment. The lessons learned will provide important guidance to management decisions about how librarians and staff members devote time and effort toward implementing and developing mobile access.We conducted a survey of USU's students (approximately 25,000 undergraduates and graduates) to determine the degree of handheld device usage in the student population, the purposes for which students use such devices, and students' interests in mobile access to the library. In addition, we surveyed librarians to learn about libraries' current and future plans to launch mobile services. This survey was administered to an opportunistic population

Discovering User Behavior: Applying Usage Statistics to Shape Frontline Services

“…In a study of 75 students enrolled in an introductory information literacy class, Bomhold (2013) found that 35 of 42 survey respondents used their mobile devices to find academic information (p. 429). This data corroborated the findings Dresselhaus and Shrode (2012) obtained during their 2011 survey inquiring about student use of mobile technology for academic purposes. The results of both studies indicated that the majority of students use mobile devices for academic objectives (Bomhold, 2013, p. 430;Dresselhaus & Shrode, 2012, p. 89).…”

Utilization of Smartphones in Learning

“…However, some universities have established online services of the library as a respond to student interest. (Dresselhaus, Shrode, 2012). Researchers find out that the academic performance of higher education students cannot be tested by their GPA.…”

“…Some universities have shown some action toward the story and begun to work on online libraries. (Dresselhaus, Shrode, 2012).…”

Cummings, Merrill, and Borrelli’s Inquiry into Small Screen Use by Academic Library Users: Timing is Everything

“…The majority of undergraduate users reported employing the devices for academic work, but the most common types of apps used were search engines, and apps for websites that the user was already familiar with from their full-sized devices (Bomhold, 2013). Dresselhaus and Shrode (2012) examined smartphone use by different types of students; fifty-four percent of undergraduates and 50% of graduates reported using mobile devices for academic work. The highest use by students (63%) was in the College of Business followed by 59% of engineering students (Dresselhaus & Shrode, 2012).…”

“…Dresselhaus and Shrode (2012) examined smartphone use by different types of students; fifty-four percent of undergraduates and 50% of graduates reported using mobile devices for academic work. The highest use by students (63%) was in the College of Business followed by 59% of engineering students (Dresselhaus & Shrode, 2012). Art and design undergraduate students used their mobile devices no differently than their peers in other colleges, aside from image and audio-visual needs (Lo et al, 2016).…”