Monday, April 29, 2013

Starting up a library iPad program: Success and Failure

When I started this blog, I mentioned some of my personal frustration with getting a library iPad program off the ground. So, in search of some advice I stumbled across this excellent article from the Association of Colleges & Research Libraries on setting up just such a program at Briar Cliff University with some helpful guidelines for success. It would have been nice if I'd read this case study before I proposed my own program last year. More on that in a moment.

If you are considering creating a library iPad program I would highly recommend you read the article in full, but here are some highlights/tips:

  • Apple has introduced an App Volume Purchase Program to facilitate app purchasing for institutions. Use this program to set up your apps across multiple devices and to maintain your backups.
  • Restrict the iTunes settings of the iPads so that borrows cannot purchase apps, since these apps will just be wiped upon return.
  • When the iPads are returned use the "Erase all content and settings" feature to wipe data clean.
  • BCU instituted a $15 an hour late fee and $700 loss replacement fee with a loan period of 4 hours at first, which was later switched to 2 days for undergraduates.
  • "Provide patrons with an easy way to suggest apps and set a maximum price that the library will pay for an app or a maximum total for all apps" (Thompson, 2011).

The article also included some great some detailed logistical advice and a robust list of app recommendations. While this information certainly would have aided me in my attempt to create a library iPad program, it would not have helped me to overcome the biggest obstacle that I faced: liability concerns.

In short, and without getting into the particular details, the reason my library iPad program never got off the ground was because I eventually found out that students would not be able to take the iPads off-campus due to university policy regarding equipment liability. And after conducting a series of formal and informal surveys, there simply was not enough demand for a iPad loan program that did not allow students to take the iPads out of the building with them. It's an unfortunate situation, but I have still managed to get some use out of our iPads by using them to conduct other library surveys about library services and student needs.


References

Thompson, S. (2011). Setting up a library iPad program: guidelines for success. C&RL News, 72(4). Retrieved from http://crln.acrl.org/content/72/4/212.full

2 comments:

  1. When we have any technology item and is used among patrons I always find myself eventually saying "See, this is why we can't have nice things." Perhaps I'm jaded, but I never see something like this working. We have laptops that patrons can borrow and they have just been a huge pain with people doing things to them and general wear from mass use. Major props for trying to get something like this going at your library.

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  2. Tablets are on my library's wish list! We really want to purchase these but more important items are purchased. Thanks for sharing this article. I understand why your library's program did not take off. I would think students would want to take them home instead of just using them in the library. In library use only is what my library would institute. I do think that $15 an hour late fee BCU charges is a little high but I bet it helps users bring it back on time.

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