My First Week Using an iPad

The Library where I work has been exploring mobile devices for staff use for years now. Most recently have used the iPod Touch in our Reference department and some of the administrative assistants have been using the iPod Touch primarily as a PDA in place of Palm T|X. When Apple announced the iPad we had an opportunity to reserve two and we did. I had read good and bad reviews. Some people said it was groundbreaking while others said that it was a device without a place.

While I was waiting in line (only about 45 minutes) the day of the release I was looking forward to see how a device like this would fit into a mid to large size Library like the one where I work. There are two versions of the iPad. One is a WiFi only model and one has WiFi and ATT 3G access built in (Paid service). We have the WiFi only model. The 3G model comes out at the end of April. Both versions come in three different capacities (16GB, 32GB and 64GB). My last thought while standing in line…….What’s up with the name? Poor effort Steve Jobs.

The iPad at first sight seems big since I've used an iPod Touch for so long. It has a 9.7 inch diagonal screen and weighs about 1.5 pounds. I’ve used the iPod Touch as a PDA for about a year and I really like it and I can just slip it in my pocket and go. That isn’t going to happen with the iPad. It has an aluminum back that is much better than the iPod Touch metal back that shows every fingerprint and scratch. The screen is beautiful and the touch is very responsive. As for the “Fingerprint-resistant coating……Not so much. Accelerometer that changes the orientation of the screen works very well and the speaker sounds pretty good for a relatively small device. This seems like a gigantic iPod Touch. The buttons are almost exactly the same and uses the same cable to sync. My initial impression is it looks really good if nothing else.

After using the iPad for a few days the bigger screen is nice. The iPad is running a version of the iPhone Operating System specifically for the device. Using Safari on the iPad to browse the web is much better with the bigger screen. The touchscreen browsing is the same but the larger screen allows you to see full pages and is much easier to use. There is still the issue with the browser not supporting Adobe flash. This is a drawback for me but not a deal breaker. Existing iPod and iPhone Apps will work but they display in a window the size of the iPhone/Touch. There is a button in the lower right hand corner of the screen in these Apps that allow you to double the size of the window which almost fills the screen but this can make some things blurry. The Apps Store works exactly the same and there are many Apps designed for the iPad.

How can I see this used in my Library? Well, I can see this device used in a few different ways and I will concentrate on the Reference department since we have used the Touch and the iPad (in a very limited way) in that department. First, the web browsing is much better as mentioned before and the Library website and catalog display well on the screen and are easy to read. The size of the device makes it easy to carry into the stacks or while helping a patron on the floor away from a desk. You also have access to other reference related resources that are web based. Our staff has used our online databases and other online resources. This can be handy when you need access to information quickly and you are working with a patron away from a desk.

Many tools that the Reference Librarians use have Apps available and a lot have been free. Those include Wikipedia, IMDb, dictionary, thesaurus, Google, and Maps and Atlas Apps. The local newspaper is also available online and works wells in the iPad browser. The mail Apps can be set up for their individual staff e-mail accounts or if it is a shared device the general Reference e-mail account can be configured. We have a Microsoft Exchange E-mail environment and the Apple devices all support this type of system. It also includes Calendar and Contacts. This is all done over the WiFi connection and no syncing with a computer is necessary to update Mail, Calendar or Contact items. This could allow the Reference staff to keep all important contact information that is located on a rolodex (I know it’s old school but I’m working on them to change it) in Outlook and access it with the iPad or Touch.

One item that is new on the iPad is iBooks and the iBookstore. This is Apple’s online bookstore and the App is free. It is similar to the Kindle Apps but I think has a little more visual appeal. Also iBook is in color and you can read the books easily in a dimly lit environment. This is only a plus if your Reader doesn’t have a backlight. I have both the Kindle Apps and the iBooks installed and I have purchased books from both vendors (Classics and some other books are free). I prefer iBooks but right now the Kindle store has a much better selection. Most books are $9.99 to $14.99.

We are currently going live with OverDrive and we have been testing both audiobooks and ebooks. The audio books from OverDrive are iPad compatible and the process is very easy. I recommend trying it out if your local Library offers this service. I know IMCPL does. The ebooks are not compatible with any Apple mobile device so we have a Sony reader that is used for training and to let the staff try out the service. I have used other devices on display in stores but it had been awhile since I have looked at anything other than the iPad/Touch. As a comparison I downloaded a book to the Sony Reader and it was ok but I was disappointed after using the iPad. I would rather read on the iPad any day but I can’t use the Library’s OverDrive service to get eBooks.

I have an iPad set up with my Mail, Calendar and Contacts via WiFi and you can also set iTunes to sync your Internet favorites and Notes from Outlook. I purchased the iWorks products for the iPad, Pages (Word), Numbers (Excel), and Keynote (PowerPoint). I have used Pages and Numbers but I haven’t used Keynote yet. You don’t get a fully functioning word processor or spreadsheet program but they are both very capable programs and I haven’t had too many issues with either App. In pages you can change the format to PDF or Word when sending the document.

The keyboard is just ok in my opinion. I wouldn’t want to try to type long notes or write any papers. You can connect a Bluetooth keyboard to it and this makes the iWork Apps much better to use. Unlike the Touch you can’t really hold it in your hands and type with your thumbs even when the screen is in a portrait orientation. Landscape makes the keyboard wider but not really wide enough to fit two hands on and type like a real keyboard. I found myself hunting and pecking with two hands. Manageable but not fast or easy but the ability to connect a keyboard is a nice feature. I’m typing this on the iPad right now with a keyboard attached.

Other Apps that I thought were cool but not necessarily work related were Pandora, USA Today, Netflix, and WinAdmin. Pandora works just like on a computer or iPhone/Touch. Streams music allows you to create custom channels. An operating system update was just announced yesterday (April 8th) that will allow multitasking. This will make Apps like Pandora much better on these devices because you can leave it running in the background and do other things on the device. Right now, you either run Pandora or you are doing something else. This update is supposed to be available for the iPhone/Touch in the summer and for the iPad in the fall.

USA Today has an App specifically for the iPad that is laid out just like the USA Today paper edition. Very cool and easy to use. There are many news Apps out there but I thought the design of this was very nice. Librarians can stay up to date on current events with a number of Apps available through the App Store. Netflix was by far the coolest App in my opinion. If you have a Netflix account (around $9 a month for the cheapest subscription) you can stream any of the Movies or TV shows available instantly through Netflix (over 17,000 titles).

The most important App to me was the remote desktop App WinAdmin. This App allows you to connect to your Windows desktop PC and use it like you were sitting in front of it. This is how we manage most of our servers and is a handy App for System Admins or other users that would like to connect to their desktop remotely. You have to enable Remote Desktop on your Windows PC.

Overall, I think this is a great device. Where does it fit in? I think that depends on what you do. It can change the way you do things and give you access to information on the go. It is not going to replace anything but when used as a companion device it can be very useful. I took this and my notebook computer to a number of meetings that I usually only bring the notebook computer and I didn’t even get the notebook out. I was able to easily access the information I needed for all of the meetings and class on Thursday night without needing to get the notebook out. I would rather take this to any meeting or class in place of a computer or paper notepad and I have been able to get 8+ hours of battery life with fairly heavy use.

The downsides are no file server connections, printing is difficult, and getting files on and off of the device can be a pain. After I started using the iPad I found a few things that I could do with it or it helped me with that I didn’t initially think about. That is what we found with the iPod touch in the Reference department and I think that is what we will find with other devices such as this as well.

An advantage (and there are just as many drawbacks) to using mobile devices at a service desk at a public Library is the patrons are going bring in and use the same devices for Internet access and other Library services. This gives the staff hands on use and knowledge of new devices and makes them more comfortable working with patrons with similar devices. Can you get every new device that comes out? Absolutely not, but you can pick and explore devices without rolling out the device for every department or staff member in a department. For example, after using the Palm devices jumping to the iPod Touch was not difficult and now moving to an iPad or similar tablet device has a shorter learning curve.