There is NOT an App for That

I think there was a time when the novelty of having something in the App Store could be a compelling marketing point for a library, but it's passed. (Cody Hanson, ALA Tech Source)

Cody Hansen, you are my new favorite person.   After I finished one of my favorite classes of my MLIS degree, Internet Fundamentals and Design (It was like a foreign language class, yo!  I speak HTML!), my next thought was...well... what's next?

I immediately turned to the thought of apps.  And no wonder.  Apps are EVERYWHERE.  They are so prevalent that for a while, I began thinking that my new bi-lingual status was useless.  I felt like unless I knew how to build an app, my HTML was a dead language.

Not so, says Cody Hanson!  And I couldn't be happier.  

Besides being relieved, I think this also makes a lot of sense.  The web now has mobile versions, and often times those web versions are more practical, both for the creator and the user, than a separate app.  Since you need an internet connection to use the app, you might as well just use the mobile version on the web.  It sure saves time if you are using a website for the first time and don't want to download yet ANOTHER app.  Also, making website updates seem to be much easier than updating an app (which then means others have to update the app, too). 

To close, I'll let Cody tell us more about why libraries could, and should, spend their time and resources on mobile technologies that are NOT apps:

Libraries have developed some strength and expertise in delivering services through the web, and we can more easily leverage that experience in building mobile web sites and web applications than we can pivot and begin developing OS-specific software. There are some solutions out there that are intended to allow experienced web developers to easily package web applications as native mobile applications, but again, the typical motivation for doing so is to sell an application, and I don't expect many libraries have content they can resell.

Well said.  Well said.  I'm looking forward to hearing more of Cody Hanson's wise words in our class tonight.

AMY