23 Mobile Things #11: Library & Reference

I've been using the St. Paul Public Library's mobile app for a few years now. It seems to have gotten a new color scheme in the past few days: nicer to look at aesthetically, and easier to read. I mainly use it for the catalog, to see if the library owns a specific book I want, usually one that I've thought of when I'm out and about and realize that I could pick up if it's available. The mobile catalog isn't designed for browsing; you can search by title or author, but that's it. I pulled up a record and clicked on one of its subject headings to see if that would take me anywhere, but no. One of the app's options is a button to take you to the main catalog, which is good, although that would be more useful on a tablet. On my phone, I could tell I was looking at the catalog, but it would have taken a lot of zooming in and out to make use of it (I'm feeling seasick at the very thought).

But, okay, for this Thing, I should probably look at all those other button in the app, the ones I usually don't use.

• My Account: Indeed, that's what this is. Oh, and I can use this to renew the one book I have out. Nifty.
• Library Locator: A good idea, especially if you're out and about and are struck by a need to visit the closest branch of the library. It needs to be tweaked for focus, though. It asked if it could use my location, then listed every branch, without any indication of which ones I was the closest to.
• Ask A Librarian: Ooh, lots of options, and two of them ("Email Us" and "Call Us") can be done with just a click through my phone. Excellent! Too bad I don't have anything to ask a librarian right now, or I could test the system more thoroughly.
• E-books and Audiobooks Available Now: OverDrive, 3M Cloud Library, and OneClickdigital, all there and ready for me to access them. You'd need to know exactly what book you want, or you'd drain your phone's battery scrolling through endless lists trying to find something, but if you do, this is a convenient way to pick up more reading material when you're away from home and your library.
• New Books for Adults, Teens, Kids: Yes, that's what they are. Again, one can search the list rather than scroll.
• BookLook @ ISBN search: This lets you scan the barcode of a book in a bookstore or that a friend is reading, or whatever, and tells you whether or not the library has it. A great idea, although the results can be confusing. I got a hit for the book I test-scanned, but then it said no copies were available and didn't let me reserve one. I'm guessing this means all the copies were lost or stolen. If that's the case, please don't get my hopes up by telling me the library owns the book.
• Research: Databases. Got it.
• Events & Classes: Exactly.
• Metrowide Calendar: Events and classes at other Twin Cities libraries, I think.
• Facebook Connect with us: Find them on Facebook...
• Follow us on Twitter @stpaullibrary: ...and Twitter.
• Metrowide Libraries: Locations of the branches of other Twin Cities libraries. Wait...it can tell me I'm 4.7 miles from the Hosmer Library (Hennepin County Library), but it can't tell me which branch of my own library is closest with the Library Locator?! Luckily, the St. Paul Public Library is listed here too, so now I can see which branch I'm currently closest to. Sheesh.

Lots of services in a fairly simple app. I really must use this more.