The Service Mode of Mobile Library

The short message service mode refers to the mode that the library provides relevant information services through mobile phone short messages. Its user coverage is wide, the technical threshold is low, and its performance is stable, but its information capacity is small, its content form is single and its interaction is poor.

2. MMS service mode

Multimedia message service (MMS) mode refers to the mode in which libraries provide information services through MMS channels of telecom operators. It has a wide user coverage and rich content forms, but it is difficult to be used for interactive operation because of the high sending cost of users.

3. Website service mode

Website service mode refers to the mode of providing information services related to mobile libraries by building websites accessible by mobile devices such as mobile phones and tablet computers, mainly including WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) websites and mobile optimization websites. With its rich functions and convenient interaction, it is the most widely used service mode.

4.？ Application service mode

App (application) refers to a third-party application, which requires the library to publish an app client for readers to install on mobile devices, and then the library provides information services through the app.

5. WeChat service mode

Wechat is Tencent's instant messaging tool, which can quickly send voice, video, pictures and text through the network. Building a mobile library App service system based on WeChat can integrate the advantages of SMS, MMS and website, and has the advantages of flexibility, openness, powerful functions, multilingual support, multi-platform support and low construction cost.

6. Comparison of five models

(1) reader coverage comparison.

The main factor affecting readers' coverage is the requirements of mobile services for mobile devices and mobile networks. At present, almost all mobile phones and mobile operators support SMS function. According to the statistics of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, as of May 20 13, the total number of mobile phone users in China reached11650,000. It can be seen that the short message service mode can cover almost everyone, and it is the most extensive service mode.

MMS is also the standard configuration function of mobile phones at present. Under GPRS, CDMA 1X, 3G, EDGE and other data networks, the MMS function can be used normally. The mobile website service requires the mobile phone to have a browser. WAP websites suitable for traditional keyboards have low network requirements and can be used normally in various types of networks (GPRS, 3G, EDGE, GSM). The touch-screen version of the 3G website has higher requirements for the network because of its large data flow.

App and WeChat can only run on smart mobile terminals of iOS, Windows Phone, BlackBerry, Android and other systems. Zhang Yi, Chairman and CEO of Ai Media Consulting, made an interpretation of China Mobile (Weibo) Internet Publishing Report 20 13 at the opening ceremony. He pointed out that in 20 13, the number of mobile internet users reached 570 million; According to the data of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, in 20 13 years, the development of cmnet showed three "70%", that is, smartphones accounted for more than 70% of all mobile phone sales, mobile Internet access traffic increased by more than 70%, and the contribution rate of mobile Internet to industry growth exceeded 70%. In the future, WAP websites and apps will become an inevitable trend and have a very broad development space. To sum up, the reader coverage of SMS and MMS services is high, the mobile website is in the middle, and App and WeChat are relatively low, but the development space is broad.

(2) Comparison of service initiative.

Service initiative refers to whether mobile libraries can actively push services to readers, rather than passively waiting for readers to consult and use them. SMS and MMS have the best service initiative. The short message service of various libraries in China is the earliest, the most widely used and the best effect. However, MMS service is generally not paid enough attention and rarely used. In fact, the capacity of each MMS is as high as 100K~300K ~ 300k, which is equivalent to 50,000 ~150,000 Chinese characters. In addition to the basic text information, it can also be accompanied by rich multimedia content such as color pictures, sounds, animations and vibrations, which has great advantages in briefing and topic selection services. The MMS service of Tsinghua University Library pushes the latest article information of 132 electronic journals such as Journal of Tsinghua University: Natural Science Edition and Journal of Electric Power.

App and WeChat services have some initiative, but their effects are restricted by platform technology. Generally speaking, the APNS (Apple Push Notification Service) message push service mechanism of iOS system is better than that of Android system. The initiative of mobile website service is the worst.

(3) Comparison of service diversity.

Mobile websites, apps and WeChat have the best diversity of services, and most library web services can be mobilized through them. In particular, the function of App is very powerful. Besides providing services like SMS, MMS and website, it can also provide new technical services. Such as taking photos, voice, ISBN/ISSN barcode reading, QR QR code reading, NFC (Near Field Communication Technology) service, LBS(Location Based Service) service, etc. Short message service is diversified. In addition to reminders and appointment notices, some libraries also provide OPAC retrieval, appointment, renewal, personal lending inquiry and other services through SMS. The service diversity of MMS is poor, and it is mainly suitable for information briefing.

(4) reader interaction comparison.

Mobile websites, apps and WeChat all have good reader interaction and user experience. But not all mobile websites, apps and WeChat services have a good user experience. The differences in computing power and screen size of various mobile devices, the design and development level of mobile websites and apps, the speed and stability of the network, etc. , have a great impact on the user experience. Short message service mode adopts format instruction, which leads to poor user interaction. For example, when readers query books, they need to send short message instructions to the service system according to a certain format, such as "CXTS* keywords", so that the service system can recognize the instructions and reply the corresponding results by short message. MMS is limited by its own technical characteristics and use cost, which makes it inconvenient for readers to interact.

Based on the above comparison, we can get the overall comparison result, as shown in Table 3-2.

Table 3-2 Comparison Table of Five Service Modes

7. Choice of mobile services

At present, the services provided by library websites in China can be roughly divided into four categories: ① notification services, including news notification, library introduction, database notification, appointment notification, reminder notification and new book notification. ② Transactional services, including reader card activation, loss reporting, book reservation, book renewal, personal borrowing inquiry, reference consultation, book recommendation, interlibrary loan, document delivery, paper submission, etc. ③ Retrieval services, including OPAC retrieval, various database retrieval, discovery system retrieval, etc. (4) Full-text service, including full-text reading of electronic books (periodicals, newspapers, etc.). ), video and audio on demand, CD-ROM service attached with books, etc. Among these services, the most urgent mobile services for readers are OPAC retrieval, personal lending service, electronic resources (downloading), loss reporting library card, lecture information announcement, reference consultation and document delivery. Considering the factors such as reader coverage, service initiative and reader interaction, Table 3-3 lists some recommended service modes.

Table 3-3 Selection of Different Services

It can be predicted that with the rapid development of information technology, the pattern of mobile internet and library mobile services will inevitably continue to change, and more and better service models will be produced.