Marta Bednarek
MPROLIB mobile application - what's new?
The mobile application for readers of libraries working in the PROLIB library system has gained new functionalities. The continuous development of the application confirms that it is an everyday tool. The needs for changes reported by both users and librarians indicate that they expect comprehensive action from the mobile application. mPROLIB is not only a tool that takes over the functions of the library catalog – it is definitely more!
New products in the mobile application start at the beginning of the path leading to joining the library’s reader community. In addition to the traditional registration path, the user now has the option of being identified through Facebook and Google accounts. He is required to certify that the application can use the data of the above-mentioned applications. If we agree, the process of registering a new reader account will be even faster than before. Data from Facebook and Google can now also be used to log into the application. However, the library decides on the possibility of using these integrations by the readers – the functionality depends on the parameter settings.
Involving readers in the library life is an important element in building the library-related community. One way to engage your readers is to add the ability to rate and review the library collection. The functionality that readers already know from INTEGRO has also appeared in the mobile application. The logged in user can now rate the item on a scale of 1 to 5 stars. If the reader would like to write something more about a given book, he / she can add a review. As in INTEGRO, reviews first go to the administrator who has to accept their content. Reviews and ratings are visible to all users, so everyone can benefit from valuable feedback from other readers.
Another element of involving readers in shaping the library’s book collection is the possibility of submitting purchase proposals. If we find that the library is missing some items, we can report such a request directly from the level of the mobile application. A logged in user can fill in a specially prepared form that will be sent to librarians. This is another functionality that was already available in INTEGRO and has been implemented in our application.
A completely new functionality has also appeared in the mobile application, which has been simultaneously added to INTEGRO. I am talking about the possibility of presenting digitized resources to the reader. You can attach a digital version to bibliographic descriptions, e.g. scans of journal issues. The logged in user will be able to display such scans in a specially prepared viewer.
The mPROLIB mobile application is constantly developed in terms of search capabilities. We strive to ensure that the search results respond as accurately as possible to users’ queries. We have made changes to the search mechanisms, thanks to which the relevance of the answers has been increased. In the search filters, we also added the number of results for each value. Thanks to this, the user already at the filtering stage can see how many responses he will get after narrowing down to the selected filter.
The new version of the mobile application is also a number of smaller amenities for its users. We have developed the functionality of adding an authorized person on the reader’s account; There are also opportunities to display interlibrary orders and to present all entries from the reader’s history. For the safety of users, we have added the ability of the library to change the requirements for the complexity of readers’ passwords. We also do not bypass the latest legal requirements, which is why the application offers the possibility of presenting the content of the Declaration of Accessibility.
The changes described above are a response to the needs and expectations of our users. The mPROLIB mobile application is constantly evolving, as are the needs of readers and librarians. The jointly developed solutions and new functionalities make our application a tool that allows its users to comprehensively take advantage of the library’s offer.
The latest version of the application is now available in the App Store and Google Play. Dedicated mPROLIB applications are available to readers of the Pedagogical Libraries of the Lubelskie Voivodeship [1], and in the near future also to users of Podkarpackie Pedagogical Libraries, the University of Information Technology and Management in Rzeszów, the University of Natural Sciences and Humanities in Siedlce, as well as the Provincial and Municipal Public Library in Gorzów Wielkopolski . The scope of individual functionalities available in the mobile application depends on the version of the PROLIB system.
The implementation of the mPROLIB mobile application in libraries facilitates the work of librarians and improves the users’ comfort. It helps to build a community of readers around topics related to reading. Discover new solutions and let the readers from your library use them too!
[1] Screenshots from the screens come from the mPROLIB application dedicated to Lublin Pedagogical Libraries.
