Thursday, April 19, 2018

In recent years, libraries of all types have become incubators and testing grounds for new technologies for their local communities and customers. Due to the changing nature of libraries, staff have honed the ability to identify innovative applications for new technologies, as well as the necessity to collaborate with a diverse group of stakeholders. Academic libraries see that handheld devices and mobile communication rule the day. Outside of the university, people are being exposed to The Internet of Things, near field communication, geolocation, and other types of interactive experiences, especially at specific points of interest. Institutions of higher education, and more specifically, libraries, can take advantage of this developing “new normal” by implementing low-stakes and low-cost initiatives that create mobile interactive experiences for their communities. Bluetooth beacons are one tool in the litany of mobile technologies with which libraries can easily experiment. At Bryant University, the library has partnered with web and integration services to become the first department on campus to test the application of Bluetooth beacon technology. Learn about the Bluetooth beacon landscape both broadly and relative to libraries and how beacons were implemented in the Bryant library. Strategies for business case generation, cross-departmental collaboration, and technological implementation are discussed as well as the successes and hurdles that Bryant staff experienced and how the library’s willingness to experiment allowed the university to expand this technology to other areas of campus.