Joe Murphy, London, Facet Publishing, 2012, 116 pp., £34.95 (soft cover), ISBN 9781856048460, (available from Inbooks)
Location-based social networks, QR codes and augmented reality all leverage the power of place as a connecting point to information engagement through social or digital interaction. The book begins with an introduction to the various location-aware applications and programs that are driving these new technologies and the ways in which libraries can embrace them to enhance users' library experience. This can be done through supporting these digital communities, offering incentives to engage users and employing these technologies as a service platform.
The book discusses the major location-based applications currently in use, including Foursquare, Gowalla and Facebook Places; mobile photo-sharing applications such as Instagram; QR codes for library instructions and reference services; mobile payment services with Google Wallet, Near Field Communication (NFC) and PayPal; and augmented-reality services such as ARSights, Virtual Graffiti and Layar.
The book is written in a logical sequence with suggested steps to follow. Chapter 1 introduces the various technologies. Chapter 2 explains the advantages and disadvantages of these technologies. Chapter 3 considers the planning stages of implementation. Chapter 4 looks at getting staff on board and buy-in from management. Chapter 5 is the heart of the book, looking at implementation. It offers step-by-step instructions on how to implement each technology in your library. It covers steps such as creating accounts (library versus individual), claiming venues, awarding prizes, training staff, testing phases, encouraging use and sharing the new technology. Chapter 6 offers ways to market these technologies within libraries. Chapter 7 discusses the best practices for implementing such technologies to ensure success. Chapter 8 covers statistics and gauging approaches to implemented systems, and planning for future needs. Finally, Chapter 9 considers those future steps in the broader context of developing trends.
Implementing any new library service needs to be carefully considered to see if it is suitable (and feasible) for a particular context. As Murphy reminds us, the evaluation criteria include:
[The] popularity of the service, penetration of individual services to your end-user groups, ability of the service to grow and adapt with technology trends, applicability of the service's features to established and potential library services, and the level of possible patron engagement it provides.
©2012, Gemma Siemensma