WorldCat.org on your mobile phone

From OCLC Abstracts, Jan. 26, 2009:

New pilot puts WorldCat.org on your mobile phone

OCLC is pleased to announce the release of the WorldCat Mobile pilot—a program that brings WorldCat.org to hand-held communications devices, such as PDAs and smartphones. The new application was created in collaboration with Boopsie, Inc., a provider of software for mobile and cellular devices. For the initial pilot, WorldCat Mobile will be operational throughout the United States and Canada. The pilot will gather data to inform and help shape future mobile access to WorldCat.org.

Thanks to advanced global positioning capabilities found in many smartphones and PDAs, WorldCat Mobile users will be able to find local library materials no matter where they happen to be. Users will also receive a map of the library location.

To speed the search and discovery process, WorldCat Mobile uses “multiprefix incremental search,” which means users can simply type the first few letters of a book title, library location or book category and matching results will immediately appear on screen.

It takes only a minute to download the application. Just go to the WorldCat Mobile Web page where you will find additional information about the pilot and links for downloading WorldCat Mobile to the device of your choice. To access from your mobile device, go to www.worldcat.org/m/.

After giving WorldCat Mobile a try, please let us know what you think at worldcatmobilepilot@oclc.org. The pilot program will be most successful with feedback from the library community.

WorldCat Mobile is currently available for download on the following PDAs and smartphones:

• Android (Google gPhone)
• Blackberry
• iPhone
• Palm OS
• Symbian S60 (Nokia)
• Java J2ME
• Windows Mobile

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