Chronicles, Excursions, More

Integrating iPads and Tablets into Library Services from ALATechSource

Other useful resources mentioned in the presentation:

• Sue Polanka’s Establishing an eReader Lending Program
• Last year’s(2012) ALA TechSource Webinar of the same name
• Presentations and handouts from Florida Library Association Conference 2012 (lot’s of interesting presentations, including eBooks, Fair Use, iPads/Tablets, RDA

Notes from 3/14/13 presentation:
Presenters: Rebecca K. Miller, Heather Moorefield-Lang, and Carolyn Meier, all from Virginia Tech.
Program started with history of tablets, which we probably didn’t need to know.

Mobile information literacy - presenters say libraries can take leadership

3Q12: 25% of all computers sold were tablets
Some statistics from Pew: people are using tablets and smartphones more to consume rather than produce information.
13% of those over 16 have accessed a library website with mobile device
25% of those over 16 have accessed a library website on any device
Library website activity - surprising list, downloading is way down the list; searching library catalog is tops. (Slide 29)

A new word: “Phablet” - a phone from 5 to 8 inches

In their workshops have seen Samsung Galaxy tablets as most popular after Apple and kindle fire

Tablets are impacting the market for eReaders (Slide 46)

Presented a sample budget of $30,000 to implement a library iPad program. Biggest dent is kiosk system for dispensing iPads at $20,000, TechLogic MediaSurfer.
When purchasing apps, need to plan one license per device.
Considerations when plannign to circulate tablets: Space, tracking the device, content, accessories, process for checking in (wipe & restore)
Note that we face all these considerations when circ’ing laptops or eReaders.


In their University environment, each iPad user has an account with their own Apple ID which they use to purchase and update their own apps. They sync data between devices.
Different profiles on devices. Users login with their own account when they have the iPad, and might purchase/install apps.
They wipe & restore the device after its circulated, syncing with the instituional iTunes profile. (Reset, erase all content & settings, sync from iTunes using library’s Apple account, and restore.)

Develop policies - who is eligible to check out devices, how long (see Slide 68)

User support - training and tutorials

Some case studies at the end of the slideshow, were not covered in 3/14 presentation. (See Slide 92 and 93 for references to Children’s use of iPads in library)