Beam-using possibilities: Infrared beaming for the Library's clientele
Michelle Paolillo
Introduction
We live in a world of exponentially developing technology, and library patrons bring a steady stream of devices into the library. The most common portable device is the personal digital assistant (PDA). PDAs can function similar to a calendar, address book and scratch pad, with the enhancement of being able to transfer this information to the owner's desktop via synchronization. PDAs are designed with communication in mind; they communicate easily with each other, with other portable devices and with desktop machines and servers. Why cannot the library join the conversation? The library could allow PDAs to gather up the results of bibliographic searches, create reference lists from full text titles, and receive information the library wishes to publicize to its clientele through the library kiosk. How feasible would it be for a library to create an infrastructure to communicate easily to the various types of PDAs in currency? How much would such an infrastructure cost, both to initiate and maintain? Would this service be easy for patrons to use? Could we provide it without asking them to purchase adapters and converters? How can a library offer services through PDAs without getting over its head with the constant upgrades in models and software? These were questions staff at Cornell University wanted to answer. The focus of inquiry centered on infrared (IR) data transfer. Fortunately, virtually all PDAs are equipped with an IR port that provides a ubiquitous channel of communication. We can utilize this as a point of entry for information in a variety of formats, transmitting information from the kiosks to the PDA. Because most PDA users synchronize with their desktop machine, the information patrons receive at the library can be easily incorporated into a larger electronic document on the platform of the patron's choice.
About IR
Infrared is not new technology. Laptops, desktops and printers, have been equipped with IR ports for many years. However, with the appearance of the Palm OS and Pocket PC powered devices, IR becomes a natural choice for a wireless means to move data to and from these small devices. IR works through the transmission and reception of infrared light from and to the IR port, externally expressed as a dark red plastic lens on the device. The emission of this light consumes very little energy, thus preserving battery life, and IR circuitry is simple, which helps keep the device small. IR transmission works up to approximately one meter's distance, requiring fairly close proximity for successful transmission. More about IR standards and capabilities can be found at the Infrared Data Association® (IrDA®), (www.irda.org). The most important feature is that all but the earliest PDAs have integrated IR ports, whereas a comparative minority of PDAs include wireless (802.11b), either integrated or as an add-on feature. IR, then, is the natural choice to reach the broadest audience.
Setting up beaming from library kiosks
The interest at Cornell University was to equip selected kiosks with IR ports and the appropriate software to allow patrons to beam the results of a bibliographic search into their PDA. Laura Heisey, of Cornell University Library, Desktop Services, and Michelle Paolillo, of the Engineering,Mathematics and Physical Sciences Library, researched several combinations of software and hardware. We were able to achieve near perfect transmission and reception with the following combination of software and hardware (prices were actual at the time we purchased the items):
Operating System: Windows 98 (already had OEM license for machines)Microsoft, (www.microsoft.com/);
IR Beaming software: QuickBeam (95 version), Extended Systems (www.extendsystems.com/ESI/default.htm),$19.95 per seat;
Text editor: Scratch Pad, DZ Soft (www.dzsoft.com/),freeware;
IR port: IR2000U, Actisys (www.actisys.com/),$72.00 each (includes drivers for Windows 98).
It cost us about $92.00 per machine to equip them with IR. First the operating system was patched to Service Pack 2 to provide the most stable IR protocol stack. Our version of Quickbeam required this. We installed Paste &Save and configured it to automatically grab whatever was copied into the clipboard, and save it to a file called "searches.txt." Next, we connected the IR device to the USB port, which prompted the installation of the driver through the operating system's plug and play routine. We supplied the driver on the diskette from Actisys. Next we installed Quickbeam, which provided us with the interface for initiating file transfer via IR, and configured it to prompt for the transmission of "searches.txt." Then the kiosk was secured with a product called Deep Freeze, which prevents users from making system changes on the machines. (This is not figured as part of the cost of the IR service, because all our kiosks are secured with this product. However, if the service ran on an unsecured machine, users would most likely find a way to"innovate", and bring the service down. The degree of security on the kiosk directly affects the cost of maintaining the service.)
As a technical aside, the technology world moves quite quickly. Actisys has since discontinued the IR2000U, and it appears that the product that replaces it is the IR2000UL, retailing for $65 at the time of this writing. If the chosen operating system is Windows 2000, Quickbeam is not needed, as the operating system itself handles file transfer. In general, over time, prices for hardware drop, and software becomes more integrated.
The new configuration allows the patron to initiate transfer of text easily into his PDA along these lines. The patron searches for a book in the library database. The result of this search is displayed as an HTML page in a browser. In our library management system, we have an option to display the results as plain text. The text can then be copied directly to the clipboard. Paste &Save automatically detects the copy action and appends the copied text into the text window, and saves it as "searches.txt." The patron can copy more text and append it to this file, or he can edit or annotate the file. When the patron is satisfied with the result, he can open QuickBeam, initiate a "quick send" and confirm the transmission of "searches.txt" to his PDA. Beaming must be turned on in the PDA. The file is received on the PDA as a plain text, unfiled memo. Again, the patron can annotate, file, and synchronize this data to his desktop machine.
Patron reactions
In the first semester that we offered the IR Beaming service, we ran a survey to try to capture user satisfaction, use patterns, and suggestions for improvement. The response was overwhelmingly positive. Of the respondents, 96 percent said they would recommend this service to associates, and an equal number found the directions clear; 89 percent found the procedures for use smooth (49 percent) or workable (40 percent), while the rest found it challenging or impossible. We considered many patrons' comments that helped us refine the service and simplify the steps. I would predict that even more people would rate the service as currently offered as "smooth."
We also noted some interesting trends. First, slightly over two-thirds of the respondents were undergraduates (67 percent), even though they made up about 42 percent of the patron traffic in the unit libraries where the service was piloted. This seems to suggest that PDAs are much more popular among the younger set. In time, one might expect to see this generation moving into the graduate student category, and finally, into the faculty category, creating a more representative response from all segments of clientele. About 93 percent of the group had Palm OS devices, the rest being Pocket PC driven. This is something we might keep in mind if development ever forces us to make decisions in favor of one platform over another. A total 87 percent of those using the service used it to transfer citations into their PDAs, with 65 percent using this information directly to locate material in the stacks. This is not a surprise, because this is how the service was primarily promoted. However, a significant proportion of respondents, 27 percent, spent time in other databases, including full text journals, and had other uses for the downloaded information, like a bibliographic manager (11 percent), or a reference list (31 percent), or other use (15 percent.) (Any one respondent could have a variety of uses for the material, and search a variety of databases and/or journals, so these proportions can add up to greater than 100 percent.) These patrons will be our great innovators, and their comments open our minds to the many ways we could expand our offerings of IR beamed material.
Further developments
Beaming text does not limit a patron to citations. Any information rendered in text can be successfully transferred as a memo. For instance, a chemistry researcher may work with several compounds on a regular basis. He may have a need to know various properties of these compounds, and it would be convenient to have such information in a portable form, as he works in different labs and collaborates with various colleagues. This researcher could look up this information in SciFinder Scholar, and transfer the wide variety of information into his hand-held as a text memo. The title of the memo could conceivably be the compound name. He can further aggregate compounds into categories with significant titles to facilitate the retrieval of appropriate information. It is easy to imagine a humanities expert doing a similar thing, transferring biographical data on poets as text memos, and then classifying them as to genre or period. In this way, scholars can mimic the utility of the old note card system. The electronic system, however, offers an improvement with the ability to search on the full text of the memo, making it simple to retrieve, for instance, the name of the author who lived in Chicago.
The library is not restricted to beaming plain text memos. We chose this format because it is an integral part of the operating systems of both Palm and Pocket PC powered PDAs, and therefore required no additional software or hardware on the part of the patron. However, one could easily beam a freeware application, such as Acrobat Reader for the Palm, and then transfer PDF formatted files to patrons' PDAs. Good candidates for this format type might include library policies, and announcements of services and upcoming events. Remember, too, that items can be easily shared from patron to patron; beaming works between PDAs as well. In such a manner, information can proliferate widely beyond the library walls.
Patrons had many suggestions for expansion of the service. Over 60 percent wanted this service in other Cornell University Library units, not just the original three. But patrons also wanted to see other campus departments offer their services in similar ways. They wanted to see labs, dorms and classrooms equipped this way, and they asked for current grades, registration and bursar balances to be transferred into their PDAs via IR beaming.
Conclusions
In our experience, the IR Beaming service has been affordable in terms of equipment price, software price and maintenance. IR is integrated in virtually every portable device, from PDAs, to laptops, telephones and pagers. The IR port we use was reasonably priced and has proven itself reliable over the last year. The USB connection assures us the ability to move this to more current platforms as we replace our library kiosks; our hardware is an investment we can keep and transfer to new machines. The software expenses were minimal, some of it freeware, the rest reasonably priced. The service has required no maintenance,but keeps working reliably, thanks to our security layer. Library patrons find the system easy to use and worthy of recommendation to their associates. They can employ the service from a catalog, or from full text, and use the information to a variety of ends: locate the item in the stacks, incorporate into a personal bibliographic database, and create a ready-reference list. In using the service, patrons can avoid re-keying the information, and avoid attempting to recreate a search, and they do not have to purchase special cables or software. Indeed, IR Beaming provides a library with an affordable, reliable,ubiquitous means to place information right into the patrons' hands.
Michelle Paolillo (map6@cornell.edu) is the Systems and Network Specialist in EMPSL, the Engineering, Mathematics, and Physical Sciences Library at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA.
