It's perhaps a little bit outdated by now, since things change so fast,
but there is a Code4Lib Journal article on one library's approach a few
years ago, which you may find useful.
http://journal.code4lib.org/articles/5014
And, actually, googling for that one, I found several other ones too on
library app mobile development, which I haven't actually read myself yet:
http://journal.code4lib.org/articles/7336
http://journal.code4lib.org/articles/2055
http://journal.code4lib.org/articles/2947
On 10/7/14 2:51 PM, Will Martin wrote:
> My boss has directed me to start looking into producing a phone app for
> the library, or better yet finding a way to integrate with the existing
> campus-wide app. Could I pick the list's brains?
>
> 1) Is there some tolerably decent cross-platform app language, or am I
> going to be learning 3 different languages for iOS, Android, and Windows
> phone? I've dabbled in all kinds of things, but my bread-and-butter
> work has been PHP on a LAMP stack. Apps aren't written in that, so new
> language time.
>
> 2) The library's selection of mobile devices consists of 2 iPads and a
> Galaxy tablet. We don't have phones for testing. My personal phone is
> a 12-year-old flip phone which doesn't run apps. Can I get by with
> emulators? What are some good ones? The budget for the project is
> zero, so I don't think dedicated testing devices are in the cards unless
> I upgrade my own phone, which I probably ought to anyway.
>
> 3) What are some best practices for library app design? We were
> thinking the key functionality would be personal account management
> (what have I got checked out, renew my stuff, etc), hours, lab
> availability, search the catalog, and ask a librarian. Anything
> missing? Too much stuff?
>
> Will Martin
>
> Web Services Librarian
> Chester Fritz Library
>
> P.S. I sent this a couple days ago and wondered why it hadn't shown up
> -- only to realize I accidently sent it to [log in to unmask] rather than
> the actual list serv address. Whoops, embarrassing!
>
>
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