Sunday, May 11, 2014

Post #22: Discovering Apps - Quixey

Since I have very little experience with apps, other than the ones I have tried for 23 Mobile Things, I went to Quixey.com to see what I could find.  I tried to find more apps that would be appropriate to a library or school setting, and while some had potential in the library or classroom, there were many that didn't seem very worthwhile for an educational setting.  Many of the more useful apps that are already on 23 Mobile Things were on Quixey and available for free download - Pinterest, Photo Editor by Aviary, LinkedIn and many others.  The "Learn" section offered apps for Google Play Books, WebMD, BBC News, Wikipedia Mobile and many others.  The selection in the "Learn" section was pretty small.   I think looking only at free apps is somewhat limiting in quantity and quality, but Quixey features a good selection overall.  On the positive side, the site has many quality apps that assist with "quick" information, such as Yahoo Weather, Google Translate, Mapquest - and those are going to be the most valuable for someone using a mobile device.  Knowing and being able to use a site like Quixey is important for librarians because one never knows what kind of a question or need a certain patron will have.  If the patron has a mobile device and the librarian can point them to a site like Quixey (or better yet, to a specific app), the patron's need will be fulfilled - and that is always the ultimate goal in a library.  It's all about getting people the information they need.

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