The following article was published in CLA's Feliciter vol. 56 #5.  This is reposted with permission from them.

Building the YourLibraryiPad App: ‘Libraries Evolve to Stay Connected’
Rob Zylstra and Stephanie Thero
 
Until recently, patrons may not have asked, "Is there an App for that?" when it came to their public library catalogue. However, times are changing. And Yellowhead Regional Library (YRL) in Alberta, has been at the forefront.
 
YRL released their own App for iPad called YourLibrary on May 28th. This App puts the catalogue of over 150 Alberta libraries in the hands of iPad users, complementing further mobile efforts made earlier in the year with the release of an application for iPhone and iPod Touch. Rob Zylstra, Client Services Manager, and Stephanie Thero, Client Services Librarian, share their story.
 
Where the Patrons Are
At YRL, we constantly have an eye on how our patrons interact with technology. It also helps that we love new technology applications and consider ourselves part of the 'now generation,’ that never go anywhere -- to the store, the movies, or even the sofa -- without bringing a mobile computing device.  As a mobile users who live in the world of libraries, we strongly believed making the connection between mobile users and the library was essential for our long-term relevancy and survival. What's more, reaching out to a growing population of mobile users positions our libraries as fresh, vibrant and still relevant in the increasingly digital world we live in.
 
The Decision to Go Mobile
The decision to embark on creating an iPad App stemmed from a new awareness of possibilities and directions that YRL has embarked on with its members - who are comprised of library managers, staff and boards that are excited about new technology, maintaining relevance with their communities and encourage and support one other to reach forward whenever possible.  In a culture where high expectations are supported through encouragement and backed financially, the sky is the limit!
 
Not without challenges
One of the challenges that we found surprising was keeping our project within the predefined parameters.  As we developed the app, we became more aware of the possibilities and started a list of additional functions for future releases.  Another challenge was finding elegant ways for it to meet more than one purpose.  The intended users are not only library patrons, but also library staff.  In addition to serving as a personal device for patrons and a reference tool for librarians, the iPad can also serve as a touch screen OPAC station premounted on the end of a bookshelf.  In all cases, the user interface and functionality of the app are the most important parts of what make it a success.  For us, this project was an opportunity to create an interface designed specifically for the users of our libraries, instead of being bound by the ‘one-size-fits-all’ products available through traditional avenues.
 
The design process was a collaborative effort between YRL and HybridForge, an Edmonton-based web-development company.  We began by identifying functions and some rough design parameters.  HybridForge had ultimate control over the user interface, which could have been a challenge for us; however, having worked together for several months by the time we embarked on the iPad App, HybridForge was familiar enough with libraries that they had a good understanding of our expectations.
 
The app is rich with functionality.  Searching can be limited by library, keyword, title, author, ISBN, and several material types.  All patron account functions that are available in the OPAC are also offered on the app, including account balance, renewing items and placing and canceling holds.  It was important to offer a new functionality outside of what was available in the OPAC. Therefore, in addition to patron reviews, cover art, first chapters, and recommended titles from Novelist were integrated into catalogue records.
 
The app is unique because it takes away some of the ‘challenges’ involved in accessing library services on the web, such as the absence of single sign-on between multiple websites, a catalogue separate from integrated search offerings, links to electronic resources and even the library website.  Our intention is to continue development with other library services so that multiple service platforms are reduced to a single platform that is a user-friendly and convenient place for library patrons to access library services.
 
Technical Stuff
Both the available apps provide a connection to the library database through an API provided by our ILS vendor, Polaris Library Systems.  HybridForge used their expertise in database driven web development in their role of building the application. Rob and Stephanie contributed to the design of the user interface. 
 
To this point, technical limitations with the vendors we worked with have been minimal.  Thankfully, Polaris, Chilifresh and Novelist all supplied relatively well documented APIs that minimized valuable developer hours, which might have otherwise been spent on clarification and troubleshooting. The process went by quickly: within one month we had a working beta application.  In fact, if it weren’t Apple’s delay of the iPad release in Canada, we would have released the iPad app in the last week of April.
 
Why Apple?
Its seems that a week doesn’t go by without this question being asked: why did you choose to develop for Apple devices?  The answer begins with the fact that of all the mobile platforms in use, together the iPhone and iPod Touch have the largest single share of hits from mobile devices to our catalogue.  Over the course of one year, catalogue usage statistics collected using Google Analytics illustrated that although there were many attempts to access the catalogue using non-Apple devices, the platforms of these devices varied so greatly that the total hits from non-Apple mobile browsers was equal to 10% of the hits from Apple mobile devices.  In short, development for Apple devices gave YRL the ability to further enhance the user experience for a large and growing sector of mobile library users.  With an existing Apple app, porting the code over to iPad and enriching it to be optimized for the increased screen real-estate was an affordable venture with high output.  To summarize, the popularity of Apple devices coupled with standardized hardware and coding practices made developing mobile software cost-effective and easy to maintain and deploy.
 
Promotion and Usage
When you’re on the cutting edge of a device that hasn’t even been released, you need to get the word out fast.  We didn’t know how many of our users and staff were standing in front of an Apple store before dawn on the iPad’s release date, so we needed to generate awareness and interest through promotional materials and demonstrations.  Simple yet eye-catching postcards were designed and distributed to our member libraries.  A news release and a spot on a local cable network brought attention through the media, and with Youtube videos, YourLibrarywent viral.  Some of the best word-of-mouth promotion was done as Stephanie cradled her newborn iPad at the Canadian Library Association (CLA) conference.  “Is that an iPad?” was immediately answered with, “yes, let me show you the app we developed!”  “Whether it was the functionality of YourLibrary or the novelty of the iPad,” Stephanie recalls, “not one person left the conversation unimpressed.”
 
The multitudes of use are evident.  YRL libraries are piloting the devices as both roaming reference tools and touch screen OPAC stations.  The iPhone app has been incredibly popular, drawing in technologically savvy users, and has been downloaded more than XXtimes.  We envision that every person who owns an iPad and uses our libraries will use YourLibrary.
 
What's Next?
The decision to develop for Apple software did not leave the users of other mobile platforms in the dark.  Polaris Library Systems is releasing a mobile friendly online catalogue that will be accessible on all of the major mobile devices, including Blackberry and Droid, which we will share with our patrons.
 
It is certain that there will be new releases of our apps, but it's difficult to predict what the future has in store because technology today moves so quickly.  We need to ensure that we’re filling the gaps, not recreating the wheel.  On the other hand, bringing together library resources into one convenient interface has value for both patrons and library staff, so we will continue to focus energy in this direction as well.
 
Whatever the future has in store, one thing is certain. The library must continue to go where the patrons are -- an increasingly digital world.