Faubion,
Kathy
Mullins,
K. (2017). Research Plus™ mobile app: information literacy “on the go”. Reference Services Review, 45, 38-53. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/RSR-03-2016-0020
Descriptive Summary: This is a study
of how librarians can develop a mobile app for students with information needs. This study at Long Island University showed that students
wanted mobile access to library resources and databases for research purposes,
but that even when issued iPads, they were not using them for this research. Even
though most students have access to mobile technology, lack of direction from
faculty and lack of digital literacy combine to make the use of the technology
low at present. It was decided that useability needed to be addressed to increase
student use of this mobile technology. Academic libraries have an opportunity
to work with faculty and students to help increase understanding of how to use
the mobile technology. Favoring a native app, the study used the ADDIE
approach: analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation in deciding
how best to increase the use of mobile library technology. In each of the
phases, students were surveyed to determine how to best develop the information
literacy app. The study used an app called Research Plus™. The app was designed
to walk students through the steps of mobile research to increase
useability. A second purpose was to meet
student information literacy needs, in accordance with the ACRL (Association of
College and Research) standards, even in a mobile platform. The features of the
app included everything from choosing a research topic to evaluating the
resources. The app was approved for beta testing at the time this article was
published, although the author notes that money and time constraints when
studying an ever-changing technological landscape make the study more
difficult.
Evaluation: Although this study was done
in an academic library, I think it could easily be adapted to public library
use. A major focus at my library is to
make our mobile applications more accessible and useable for our patrons. Many of our patrons use our databases for
research purposes, but it is our goal to make it so they can do so “on the go”. If an app like Research Plus™ were available
to the public, then mobile information needs could be better met.
Keywords: Information Literacy, Mobile Technology, Mobile
Resources, Academic Library
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