In conversations about Web 2.0 I haven’t heard much about the use of the Internet on cell phones, but that doesn’t mean that our teen patrons don’t use it.
Recently I talked with a teen who does not have Internet at home. He used the library computer to access his e-mail and Myspace page before they were filtered, and now does not use the library at all. He does however have a cell phone, and on his cell phone is Internet access. He showed me his pre-stored web links, and the google search feature. I was able to look up different web sites to see that the format is extremely simple, and in many cases stretched to multiple pages. The phone can only reach about 15 characters across, and every line is wrapped around. When the library has dozens of navigation links pages are taken up by the list of links, so it takes a few clicks to even get to content.
All of this will be completely familiar to Web designers, but many libraries do not have the luxury of these experts. I hope that as teens move into wireless technology libraries will be there to offer services such as catalog search, text reminders, and even web sites for teens to access when they are on the go.
