Using Your Library: There's an App for That

Smartphones Replacing Old-Fashioned Library Cards. (Government Technology, 8/3/2011)

Anyone else feel themselves getting defensive when the words "old-fashioned" and "library" are placed next to each other?

Excerpt:  Public libraries sometimes get a bad rap for not utilizing the latest technology, but in reality more of them are pushing their services onto smartphones. Checking a book out on a smartphone rather than at a counter is becoming a more common occurrence.

For example, the Catawba County, N.C., Library System recently began using an app, called LS2 Mobile, to give its registered patrons access to its catalog of available books and other media. The free app provides a searchable list of titles, and users can also renew items, place items on hold and check their account status.

“[Patrons] can then go and pick the item up at their library; they don’t have to pull it off the shelves themselves,” said Regina Reitzel, a Catawba County information services librarian. “They can also see how many books they have out.”

The app is available on the iPod Touch and iPhone, and soon is expected to be made available on Android and BlackBerry. The app’s features also can be accessed by logging on to the county library’s website.