The slide below (from a recent webinar on the NCSU mobile library site) does a great job of conveying what I’ve been saying recently about the importance of keeping mobile sites simple. It also brings to mind the bottom sketch from a recent post. Taken together, these two graphics give me hope that, with the advent of mobile tech, libraries are catching on to simple design. Traditionally, the design of library interfaces (especially OPACs) has tended to take the “everything but the kitchen sink” approach, with way more information than users attend to (as shown in the bottom sketch). With the restrictions of small screen mobile-devices, though, I suspect the appeal of simple design will become more apparent, as shown nicely in the NCSU mobile catalog search.

Sketch from: Why Apple & Google Win – And Libraries Don’t …

Related articles:

• Why Apple & Google Win – And Libraries Don’t
• A Mobile Modest Proposal: One iPod Touch per Librarian – Mobile Friendly Design: A Great Opportunity for Libraries
• Mobile First Design: Simplifying Complexity
• The Google Simple Design Revolution

Eric Rumsey is at: eric-rumseytemp AttSign uiowa dott edu and on Twitter @ericrumseytemp