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When confronted with the need to do serious research,do you reach first for your phone, your laptop, a desk-tethered computer—or is it your mobile device? A

growing number of researchers are engaging mobile devicesas search tools. Smartphones, cell phones, and other mobiletechnologies are now commonly among the first places peo-ple turn when seeking information.

Increasingly, mobile devices are used as informationtools for current awareness as well as for search.Newspapers, from The Wall Street Journal to the FinancialTimes to local city dailies, have created mobile versions,which are optimized for reading on a cell phone screen.Factiva will send alerts to your mobile device.

There are differences in information-seeking behaviorsbeyond simply reading news on your mobile. What you firstuse to search often depends upon convenience—and theeasiest route is often dictated by your mobile technologyhabits. You can easily grab an answer from Google orWikipedia using a mobile web browser or application. Textmessaging is even easier, and it’s become endemic withmobile phones. You can text a friend or ChaCha (text242242) for a quick answer. Then there’s social networking.Another approach is to query your social circle throughTwitter or Facebook, again using your phone.

Switching gears to professional-grade research asopposed to ready reference or personal trivia questions

changes the situation. When people need a thorough surveyor in-depth search of a topic, they are still expected to moveon to traditional tools and settle down at the computer toscour proprietary databases and the library OPAC.

However, as aspects of our lives rely more heavily on ourmobile devices, we are becoming more willing to embracethe use of mobile technologies for searching and advancedresearch. The information industry is adapting to reflectthis shift in user behavior. Because of advances in mobiletechnology and changes in our approach to engaging infor-mation, our quests for the deepest information resourcescan be just as convenient and mobile.

LIBRARIES ADOPTION OF SMSLibraries have taken up the need for answers via SMS

(short-messaging service) by providing text message refer-ence services through a variety of technologies and models.While not a new development, this addition of librariansinto the mobile search arena by SMS has been a major stepin keeping the expertise of the librarian within the mobileinformation-seeking experience.

Search with other mobile technologies, including mobileapplications and mobile social networks, is growing. Mobileapplications are pieces of software produced by third partiessuch as businesses or services that people can download ontotheir smartphones. The recent explosion in popularity of

by Joe Murphy

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mobile applications (the phrase “There’s an app for that” hasentered the popular vocabulary with a vengeance) has fueleda new direction in mobile search. Many information resourcesand portals have created mobile applications as powerful gate-ways to their online resources. Major web search engines, asdiverse as Google, Bing, and Wolfram Alpha now offer power-ful search experiences via smartphone applications. Thesetools have set the stage and offered lessons for libraries andinformation vendors pursuing mobile search projects.

MOBILE APPLICATIONS FOR PROPRIETARY DATABASES

Back up. What about those proprietary databases so essentialto library research? Yes, there are apps for those. Several infor-mation companies have begun to make their tools accessible tomobile searchers by introducing mobile search gateways in theform of smartphone applications or mobile web platforms.Mobile applications for iPhones have been the central thrust ofmobile endeavors because of the versatility and popularity thatcomes with the dedicated and flexible search experience. Thissets them apart from sites on mobile web browsers. The follow-ing are a sample of mobile search resources currently availablefrom vendors as iPhone applications.

On the legal research side, LexisNexis provides mobileaccess to case information, sourced from Lexis.com, withits Get Cases and Shepardize iPhone app. Usage of the app

is based on proper authentication, and login is necessary.Searching is limited to known citations, providing conven-ient access to case info on-the-go (www.lexisnexis.com;http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id336328468?mt=8).

Fastcase, although perhaps not as well-known asLexisNexis, introduced its legal research app in January2010. Available for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, itallows for full Boolean searching, citation lookups, andbrowsing statutes in outline view. The app, and subsequentsearching, is free (www.fastcase.com; http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/fastcase/id352470511?mt=8).

iSSRN, the Social Science Research Network’s mobilesearch interface, provides access to the online content of theSSRN eLibrary for everyone via an iPhone app. The friendlyiSSRN mobile search application allows for basic search ofits electronic paper collection as well as abstracts and accessto PDF articles (www.ssrn.com; http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/issrn/id334702612?mt=8).

APPS FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCHThe American Institute of Physics (AIP) launched its

iResearch iPhone app to provide mobile access to contentof many of its major titles, including Applied Physics Letters,Biomicrofluidics, Chaos, Journal of Applied Physics, TheJournal of Chemical Physics, Journal of MathematicalPhysics, Journal of Physical and Chemical Reference Data,


Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy, LowTemperature Physics, Physics of Fluids, Physics of Plasmas, andReview of Scientific Instruments. The application, whichemphasizes browsing over searching and maximizes theiPhone’s wider landscape mode, allows users to save discov-ered content as cached items to provide access throughpatrons’ authenticated devices even when not connected(www.aip.org; http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/iresearch/id331339330?mt=8).

Nature Publishing Group’s Nature.com iPhone app, whichruns on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, makes it easy formobile researchers to browse, search, read, bookmark, and setup saved searches for news and articles from Nature andNature News. The current-awareness feature, which pushesnew articles directly to your iPhone, saves searches, and offersthe ability to navigate and interact with figures and to view ref-erences, makes this a useful mobile search tool for researchers.The app is free (www.nature.com; http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/nature-com/id349659422?mt=8).

The IOPscience express and the PhysicsWorld.com NewsFlash iPhone apps are geared toward helping researchers keepup-to-date with the most recent articles in Institute of Physics(IOP) journals. This free app allows for browsing the mostrecent 25 articles by journal or subject area and searchingacross titles for content from the last 2 years. Full-text articlesare available in PDF and can be exported by email. Twenty arti-cles can be downloaded to the app per month (www.iop.org;http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/iopscience-express/id349478847?mt=8).

ACS Mobile, from the American Chemical Society (ACS),introduced ACS ASAP Articles in March 2010. Running onthe iPhone platform, it streams peer-reviewed scholarlyjournal content and the latest news from Chemical andEngineering News (C&EN). You can also save favorites, dis-play full text, search across more than 850,000 articles andbook chapters archived on the ACS Web Editions Platform,and share links and snippets. Access to full text is limited tosubscribers, and the app costs $2.99 (www.acs.org; http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/acs-mobile/id355382930?mt=8).

There are also mobile applications built by unaffiliated thirdparties that use or access specific research tools. For instance,several iPhone applications have been created for enablingmobile searching of the popular arXiv.org eprint archive.

LIBRARY CATALOG APPSAccessMyLibrary, from Gale, a part of Cengage Learning,

uses the phone’s built-in GPS to locate nearby (defined byGale as within 10 miles) public libraries. The app connectspatrons with local library resources and allows them tosearch within any Gale databases, serials, how-to guides, andreference works to which the library subscribes. You select aresource and perform a search in an interface mirroring thePowerSearch on the online version. The app is free, and youdon’t need a library card for nearby libraries to search Gale’sdatabases (www.accessmylibrary.com; http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/accessmylibrary/id342518632?mt=8).

The SirsiDynix BookMyne iPhone application locatesnearby libraries and allows patrons to search the library cat-alog, place holds, and check their library account balancesif the library subscribes to the SirsiDynix Symphony man-agement system. Search functionality is obviously limitedto library cardholders, but the app is free (www.sirsidynix.com; http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bookmyne/id350625461?mt=8).

OCLC’s WorldCat Mobile iPhone application identifies locallibraries that hold items cataloged in WorldCat. Search for abook and the mobile app will show the closest owning library.It provides contact information and maps to libraries.Developed in partnership with Boopsie, the mobile function isavailable in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Germany, France, andHolland (www.worldcat.org/m; http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/worldcat-mobile/id309643302?mt=8).

LibraryThing’s Local Books iPhone application searchesand browses LibraryThing for events at specific bookstoresor libraries near the searcher. LibraryThing’s LibraryAnywhere mobile application is a proprietary addition tolibrary OPACs that works with multiple providers. It workswith all the major vendors—SirsiDynix, ExLibris, InnovativeInterfaces, Follett Software, Polaris, and Alexandria. Theinteractive overlay, which is available for iPhone,BlackBerry, and Android phones, is available for purchaseby libraries to mobilize the OPAC search experience(www.librarything.com; http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/local-books/id335363746?mt=8).

Going beyond searching a library catalog, ProQuest’sSerials Solutions released an app, which is downloadablefrom its site rather than from Apple’s iTunes store, for itsSummon web-scale discovery service. Users of any librarywith Summon can search the library’s physical collection anddigital resources from their phone (www.serialssolutions.com/summon).

BROWSERS ON YOUR PHONEPutting an app on your mobile device isn’t the only way to

access research information. Browsers are now appearingon mobile devices. Gearing resources to mobile webbrowsers and developing mobile webpages as opposed tomobile applications widens the potential audience to allmobile searchers. Here is a sample of companies that havecreated rich websites for mobile browsers.

EBSCO provides mobile access to its online resources viaa mobile web browser-optimized site (http://search.ebscohost.mobi and http://m.ebscohost.com) with EBSCOhostMobile. All EBSCO databases are accessible through themobile site once your local administrator has set up aninstitutional profile. Users on authenticated devices canselect and search a wide variety of EBSCO resources, exportresults lists and PDF full text when available, and viewHTML full text and figures and graphs from articles asimages. EBSCO has developed its interface for most smart-phones; it’s not limited to the iPhone (www.ebscohost.com/thisTopic.php?marketID=1&topicID=1336).

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With IEEE Xplore (http://m.ieeexplore.ieee.org), theInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) pro-vides a mobile webpage for searching its digital contents.IEEE Xplore is a free search interface with access to full textby exporting via email and viewing as provided by license.This IEEE interface is a generic mobile webpage to patronswith all internet-enabled mobile devices, although viewingfull articles is restricted to subscribers. [See a full review ofthe newest version of IEEE Xplore on page 26. —Ed.]

The National Library of Medicine has simplified mobilesearch and access to health information with its MobileMedlinePlus (http://m.medlineplus.gov) mobile-optimizedwebsite. This mobile version of MedlinePlus provides easyaccess to consumer health information through searchingand browsing. Though it’s not the full MEDLINE, MobileMedlinePlus includes summaries of more than 800 diseases,conditions, and wellness topics. It also has health news, anillustrated medical encyclopedia, and information on pre-scription drugs and over-the-counter medications. MobileMedlinePlus is available in Spanish (http://m.medlineplus.gov/Spanish). There is a link to Mobile MedlinePlusfrom the MedlinePlus homepage, as well as an FAQ (www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/faq/mobile.html).

There’s also an app: The PubMed On Tap iPhone applica-tion has advanced search functions and the ability to read,store, and export reference information and articles asPDFs. A free version, PubMed On Tap Lite, offers all the fea-tures but limits results per search to 10.

CONSIDERATIONS FOR LIBRARIANS AND VENDORS

These initiatives by information providers show a strongstart toward mobile search. These companies should con-sider the following key points to strengthen and furtherenhance their mobile search projects and continue theirsuccess in this arena.

A primary consideration is deciding where to allocateresources. Which platform deserves the most focus? Where dothey prioritize mobile search endeavors? Casting a wide net,

developing mobile sites and application platforms across manydevice models will reach the broadest user population but isthe most expensive approach. Separate applications for themajor smartphones and a mobile web browser site will makethe resource accessible to the largest number of searchers yetrequires the largest dedication of resources and staff time.

New models for authenticating mobile search tools andpricing to maintain seamless access are needed. Providingfull access without compromising content is an importantconsideration. Options that enhance the personalizationand preference settings can allow for potential access to fullcontent and customizable limits that suit the individualsearcher. Publishers should develop an enterprise culture ofadaptability that is responsive to the ever-shifting behaviorsand expectations of mobile searchers.

BALANCING TRADITIONAL WITH MOBILE DELIVERY

The mobile experience should deliver the content thatsmartphone users are accustomed to receiving from tradi-tional information systems. Mobile users, however, expect fea-tures customized for a fully mobile experience; features thatallow them to find, engage, and export the information fromwithin the mobile platform. They want it to fit into their estab-lished mobile lives by including core mobile concepts and willjudge the mobile search platform by what it does not do well.

Librarians who are not smartphone users expect theresource to interact with and enhance the established staticweb-based resource. Designing for both groups meansevaluating the very different but potentially complemen-tary considerations of these stakeholders and leveragingstrengths of the extant and emerging technologies.

Exactly how mobile search tools can be best designeddepends heavily on user expectations, which are shaped byusers’ experience with technology and are as fluid as themobile technology landscape. Mobile applications are thebest option for powerful information resources right now.But the adoption of HTML5 and the changes anticipated formobile web design might cause a shift away from applica-tions and back toward mobile browsers.

Other technologies that will impact mobile search in thenear future are emerging gadgets such as the Apple iPad, atablet computer that will change the perceived roles ofmobile technology in research. These emerging technolo-gies have the potential to shift user-engagement expecta-tions and provide us with opportunities to plan for multiplepotential future paths in mobile search.

LIBRARIANS GOING MOBILEBefore committing resources to mobile products, librari-

ans should consider how to respond to the mobile revolu-tion, how to react to vendor endeavors, and how to adaptskills and operations to welcome a mobile culture into thelibrary information-seeking experience. This includeskeeping current on mobile technology and gaining per-sonal familiarity with the mobile search experience.

Using Mobile Devices for Research: Smartphones, Databases, and Libraries

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Librarians can successfully manage the shift to mobilesearch by exploring the mobile literacy skills needed forself-development and for teaching users and by estab-lishing new processes for managing access to mobileinformation resources.

Librarians incorporating a full mobile culture into theiroperations will need to change the way they approachsearch skills and expectations—de-emphasizing the use ofBoolean searching when mobile platforms do not facilitateit and streamlining connections to and within mobileresources and portals.

Librarians face unique technical and managerial consid-erations for implementing mobile resources and facilitatingconnections between mobile resources and end users,including new ways of managing access and authenticating,marketing, providing technical support, optimizing theirportals and pages for mobile devices, and including mobilevendor resources and mobile-related resources into facetedsearch tools and guides.

Librarians should consider the mobile search experi-ence at every stage of a library’s operations, from purchas-ing to providing access to the development of localplatforms. This means welcoming and entering the mobileculture with the goal of keeping the library in our patrons’mobile information streams.

LOCATION-BASED RESEARCHWhat about improving the mobile search experience by

harnessing some contemporary trends in informationengagement? Think social, real-time, and location-basedinteraction with content and peers. The opportunities ofthese trends can be maximized by facilitating the sharing ofdiscovered and recommended content through establishedand native social networks and enhancing discoverabilitywith time-sensitive and geo-based social rankings.

Nontraditional arenas reactive to major technologytrends might be extremely fruitful avenues for enhancingmobile search experiences. Think leveraging Twitter,Foursquare, or augmented reality for advanced discovery.

Location-based social networks such as Foursquare,Gowalla, and MyTown are games with an emphasis on com-petition. Using mobile phones, players compete, interact,and share based on where they are physically with geo-based engagement with business and people.

Foursquare players gain points and climb the local leaderboard by checking in at physical locations. They are alertedof promotions from businesses nearby. Mobile search skillsare used when seeking within Foursquare for promotions,resources, or people. Librarians can learn from Foursquare’ssuccess in facilitating connections between users’ mobilesearching and business resources. Why not libraryresources? Vendors can leverage the popularity of buildingand sharing across social connections. Location-basedsocial games may prove to be a natural complement andstrong enhancement to mobile search, and its applicationswill evolve with its growing popularity.

The next steps will include considering how to incorpo-rate nontraditional social mobile tools such as Twitter and Facebook into our repertoire of search resources,both as real-time search tools and as avenues for interact-ing with vendors.

THE MOBILE FUTURE(S) OF SEARCHThe future of mobile search will be a maturation of mobile

resources as central, not supplemental points of access inthe short term. We will also see a further connectionbetween and beyond traditional publisher and libraryresources including a focus on mobile search tools.

Changes in information technology are now occurring onthe scale of months, not years, and some of the major tech-nology trends that will affect mobile search in the begin-ning of 2010 are location-based games and services, arenewed emphasis on personalization through customiz-able search interfaces, deep integration of social conceptsand social networking services into mobile search tools,and augmented reality.

Significant tangential technological trends in mobilesearch including location-based services, mobile social net-works, and augmented reality will impact the face andnature of mobile search in the near future. The focus ofmobile search may soon shift from networked portals tolocation- and experience-based access points of digital datalayered over physical locations and items.

Mobile search will continue to change as we continuouslyadapt search technologies to stay within sight of our endusers’ information flows. Librarians and publishers can worktogether to effectively meet users’ mobile needs with respon-sible products and services. The next step of this trajectorywill be meeting the clamor for mobile access, matchingmobile realities with users’ expectations, and, ultimately,driving instead of responding to expectations.

Mobile devices are becoming a significant gateway tosearching. We are seeing increased user demand for theconvenience of searching on-the-go. The expanding mobilefocus of information services is influencing our expecta-tions for engaging information tools. This pressure on serv-ice providers is forcing us to adapt to these evolvingemerging mobile habits and to fit our resources into themobile information market. Libraries and vendors havebegun to meet these challenges in earnest and are ready tocontinue adapting in order to succeed as the world ofmobile information engagement takes root. As mobilesearch catches up with mobile expectations, we in the infor-mation industry have the opportunity of guiding develop-ment to best balance the human and technological aspectsof the mobile information experience.

Joe Murphy ([email protected]; libraryfuture on Twitter) is science librarian, coordinator of instruction and technology, YaleUniversity Science Libraries.

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