Wireless Technologies in Libraries: A Public Services Perspective

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Wireless Technologies in Libraries A Public
Services Perspective
ProQuest University ALA Midwinter PreConference

January 9, 2004
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Wireless Technologies in Libraries A Public
Services Perspective
The Simmons Wireless Implementation
Public Services Perspective What Devices are P
atrons Using? Getting Patrons Online Wireless
Device Library Content and Activities
Outside Our Libraries
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The Simmons Libraries Wireless Implementation
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Why Implement Wireless? Its comparatively
cheap easy flexible convenient for users and
being demanded by them!
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Justification for our Implementation
A competitive necessity Cited the vast amounts of
quality scholarly information available online
and high Simmons usage stats Cited the increasing
numbers of students showing up with laptops in
the library - academically it made sense to put
it in the library Showed it was a logical complem
ent to other technology projects we were working
on (digital references, PDAs) Pointed out the adv
antages of existing Support desks
Proposed formal assessment measures
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Wireless Installation Relatively Simple
Access Points
Wireless card
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Wireless Installation Relatively Simple
Enterasys Networks RoamAbout Wireless LAN As pa
rt of the Simmons network upgrade, Enterasys
included 10 access points Wi-Fi 802.11b Ope
rates in the 2.4Ghz spectrum Supports speeds up
to 11Mbps Range is about 300 ft
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Library Loans IBM ThinkPads
The e-mail Web navigation key is programmed to
open the Simmons Webmail page
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What Devices are Patrons Using to go Wireless?
Smart Phones
Laptops
PDAs
Tablets
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Tablet PCs
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Not Automatically Wireless
1. Wireless modem/ISP
3. Built-in WiFi
2. Wireless Card
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Infrared
www.clarinetsys.com
Using the infrared port, can share information
with other users, called beaming no wires, no
direct connections
www.tribeam.com
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Bluetooth
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Getting Patrons Online Configuration
Initially Register MAC get SSID. Lots of
librarian time! Now NoCatAuth anyone can get to
the network, but must authenticate to get to the
internet links to campus central database using
LDAP same patron log in as their email.
Virtually no librarian time!
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Getting Patrons Online
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Like DHCP on the laptops, the PDA is configured
by default to obtain a Simmons IP dynamically,
that is, at the time of connection, instead of
being permanently assigned a specific IP
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in my office (
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out in the hallway
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right above the access point!
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What Functions Are Library Patrons Using on
Smaller Wireless Devices?
Wireless device-friendly Web Pages
Reference and other Ebooks Journals and Databas
es Web Searching Integrated Library Systems (O
PACs and more)
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Mobile Device-Friendly Content
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What web content looks like on a typical Palm
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Content adapted for a Mobile Device
changes often or referenced frequently
The Lincoln Trail Library System (Champaign, IL
) provides library hours, contact information,
upcoming events, and directions for over 140 of
its member and affiliate branches
The Cunningham Library (Indiana State
University, Terre Haute) provides a materials
locatora PDA guide to help patrons find items in
the library stacks The University of Georgia Lib
raries (Athens GA) has a PDA page that provides
directions, operating hours, a browsable guide to
Library of Congress (LC) call numbers with floor
locations, an Ask a Question e-mail reference
form.
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PDA-friendly Pages
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Wireless Device Library Content
Reference and other Ebooks
Licensed Physician's Desk Reference "5-Minute
Clinical Consult" series Purchased PDA versions
of popular titles, from the latest Michael
Crichton novel to The Hours by Michael
Cunningham, at Amazon.com, which includes
"Handheld Compatible" in its product
descriptions Free Eighteen-hundred publicly avai
lable e-books can be downloaded from the
University of Virginia Library's Etext Center.
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Wireless Device Library Content
Journals Databases
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Locating Web Content on a Wireless PDA
http//www.google.com/palm
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Integrated Library System Vendors
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Wireless Limitations Security
All network traffic on the Simmons College
wireless network is not encrypted and is "in the
clear" and is visible to others on the wireless
network, authenticated or not.  
The wireless network attempts to limit traffic
that would ordinarily expose passwords and other
sensitive information, like using POP and IMAP
for email, and using telnet and ftp.  
The following network services and ports are
currently open, upon authentication, on the
wireless network http (port 80, 8080) https (po
rt 443) ssh (port 22) imap-ssl (port 993)
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Wireless Limitations Speed
Users of a wireless network share transmission
capacity Depends on number of wireless devices be
ing used at one time Varies with the type of traf
fic (kind and size of files) As the number of co
nnecting devices increases, the amount of
bandwidth available to each decreases
Further a patron is from the access point, the
slower it gets
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Outside Our Libraries Public Hotspots
http//www.wi-fi.com
http//www.wifinder.com/
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http//www.wi-fi.com
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http//www.warchalking.org/
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http//people.morrisville.edu/drewwe/wireless/
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Wireless Technologies in Libraries A Public
Services Perspective
Presentation Links http//web.simmons.edu/fox/
pda
Megan Fox Web Electronic Resources Librarian
Simmons College
fox_at_simmons.edu