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Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship |
Fall 2015
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DOI:10.5062/F4PV6HCB |
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Chanitra Bishop
Web & Digital Initiatives Librarian
Hunter College
New York, New York
cb1579@hunter.cuny.edu
The popularity of mobile devices has led to a plethora of applications or "apps" to accommodate users of tablet and smartphones. There are apps available for everything you can imagine and this holds true in the field of science and technology. Users increasingly want to be able to access, manipulate, and share information using various platforms, including apps. An engineer, for example, can use an app such as LuxCalc Fluid Prop I to quickly calculate absolute viscosity or thermal expansion for a given temperature, or use AutoCAD 360 to share drawings. It is important for librarians to be tech savvy and knowledgeable about applications for mobile devices. While providing information through the use of mobile apps may appear to be out of the scope of libraries, or unnecessary due to the availability of information in other formats or devices, the growing reliance on mobile devices makes it more pertinent.
According to the Pew Research Center, 64% of adults in the U.S. own a smartphone and 19% of Americans depend on a smartphone for some level of Internet access (Smith 2015; Mobile Device Ownership 2015):
As smartphones become more mainstream, the popularity of mobile apps has also increased. Gartner, a research technology firm that provides technology-related reports, has predicted the number of mobile app downloads will reach 268 billion by 2017 (Gartner Says 2013). Research by Nielsen indicates that smartphone users between the ages of 18-24 are spending more time in apps, approximately 27 hours per month (So Many Apps 2015).
Surveys done by the Pew Research Center in 2011 and again in 2013, found that apps are downloaded by 50% of cell phone owners and that adults between the ages of 18-29 are most likely to download apps (Purcell 2011; Duggan 2013). Furthermore, 60% have looked up health information and 40% of users have looked up government information or services while 30% have gotten educational information using their smartphone (Smith 2015):
For colleges and universities, this is an indication of how students are accessing information. It is important to note that while smartphone and app usage is growing, that usage is concentrated on the most popular apps, and the number of apps used each month continues to remain relatively stagnant at 28 apps (So Many Apps 2015). The University of Alabama at Birmingham's Online Masters in Management Information Systems created an infographic on the Future of Mobile Application Development which summarizes this data.
As Chitra Sethi notes, the portability, convenience and ease of use, along with the computing power of smartphones have led to users feeling that smartphones are a necessity (Sethi 2011). A study conducted by Pew in 2014 found that 46% of smartphone users say "they couldn't live without" their phone (Smith 2015). Due to the proliferation of apps, this review will focus on Android and iPhone educational apps that can be used to assist with coursework. The list features both paid and free apps.
Apps for Science Lovers. [n.d.] AppAdvice. [Internet]. [Accessed 2015 Aug 17.] Available from: http://appadvice.com/applists/show/apps-for-science-lovers
Corpuz, J. 2015. 12 Best Calculator Apps. 2015. Tom's Guide. [Internet]. [Accessed 2015 Aug 21]. Available from: http://www.tomsguide.com/us/pictures-story/645-best-calculator-apps.html
Dental Patient Education Lite. [n.d.] App Store. [Internet]. [Accessed 2015 Aug 18]. Available from: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dental-patient-education-lite/id590689678?mt=8
Duggan, M. 2013. Additional Demographic Analysis. Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech. [Internet]. [Accessed 2015 Aug 14]. Available from: http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/09/19/additional-demographic-analysis/
Essential Skeleton 4. [n.d.] App Store. [Internet]. [Accessed 2015 Aug 18]. Available from: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/essential-skeleton-2/id623811668?mt=8
Gartner Says Mobile App Stores Will See Annual Downloads Reach 102 Billion in 2013. 2013. Gartner. [Internet]. [Accessed 2015 Aug 17.] Available from: http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2592315
Hoffman, T. 2014. The Top 5iPad Apps. PC Magazine. [Internet]. [Accessed 2015 Aug 19] Available from: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2411415,00.asp
Images & Animations App. [n.d.] 3D4medical.com. [Internet]. [Accessed 2015 Aug 18]. Available from: {http://images.3d4medical.com/images.html}
Mobile Device Ownership Over Time. 2015. Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech. [Internet]. [Accessed 2015 Aug 12]. Available from: http://www.pewinternet.org/data-trend/mobile/device-ownership/
Prakash, N. 2012. 10 Killer Apps for Engineering and Science Majors. Mashable. [Internet]. [Accessed 2015 Aug 18. Available from: http://mashable.com/2012/09/07/apps-science-engineering-majors/
Purcell, K. 2011. Half of Adult Cell Phone Owners Have Apps on Their Phones. Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech. [Internet]. [Accessed 2015 Aug 14]. Available from: http://www.pewinternet.org/2011/11/02/half-of-adult-cell-phone-owners-have-apps-on-their-phones/
Sethi, C. 2011. 5 Mobile Apps for Engineers. ASME. [Internet]. [Accessed 2015 Aug 11]. Available from: https://www.asme.org/engineering-topics/articles/technology-and-society/5-mobile-apps-for-engineers
Sethi, C. 2012. 10 iPad Apps for Engineers. ASME. [Internet]. [Accessed 2015 Aug 18]. Available from: https://www.asme.org/engineering-topics/articles/technology-and-society/10-ipad-apps-for-engineers
Smith, A. 2015. U.S. Smartphone Use in 2015. Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech. [Internet]. [Accessed 2015 Aug 11]. Available from: http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/04/01/us-smartphone-use-in-2015/
So Many Apps, So Much More Time for Entertainment.2015. [Internet]. [Accessed 2015 Aug 17]. Available from: http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2015/so-many-apps-so-much-more-time-for-entertainment.html
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