Students from last fall’s software engineering class Computer Science 5150 will release a new application today that will enable iPhone users to access the University library’s online website.
The program’s creators boasted about the application’s capabilities.
“You can do catalog searches, look at your library account, check hours and maps of the libraries,” said Beth Brown ’10, who was a student in the class where the software was developed. “You can even access research databases if you want.” She added that users could text librarians with personalized questions.
Computer Science 5150 is an upper-level software engineering class where students develop programs that can eventually be produced and used in the real world. The library regularly submits ideas to the class.
Last year, they proposed an application that would afford students easy access to the University’s library system when they could not get to a computer.
According to Ellen Marsh, director of library communications, the application is part of the “Library Outside the Library” initiative that has attempted to provide the campus with opportunities to take advantage of library resources using technology.
“I consider myself a frequent library user, but I never go there,” explained Prof. William Arms, computing and information science, who teaches Computer Science 5150. “So many people use their cell phones as computers, the library basically wants to be accessible to those people.”
Original Author: Robert Merola