Enhancing University Library Services with Mobile Library Information System

Abstract

Abstract An Indonesian University has to serve three main activities: Research, Teach, and Outreach. To support those activities, one of the most important facilities was library. Library has evolved from its previous original purposes to keep and preserve resources, such as books and other materials. The development of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) shifted the main library features to a broader one. However, some studies show that the end of traditional library maybe not near, as many still prefer to read printed format books instead of electronics one. Thus, it is still necessary to introduce the use of ICT to enhance the user experience of using university library service. ICT can be used to allow the user to find collection, borrow books, and many other services using mobile applications. This paper discusses the development of an Android mobile application that support the library information system, allowing the users to use the library services in a more convenient way remotely. There are number of server-side or client technologies used for the development, including: Android SDK, Laravel Framework, Laravel Dispatcher, Iron.io, Google Cloud Messaging (GCM), and Android Volley. A preliminary study carried out to gather the features needed by the prospective users, then followed by an analysis and design stages, then implemented using the aforementioned technologies. Finally, upon successful implementation stages, it was followed with a series of interviews to its prospective users, both the university’s librarian as well as the prospective users. In conclusion, the developed apps met the users expectations whilst a number of improvements can also be done to boost the user experience and usability.