Museums are often seen as the keys to our past, but they can also introduce their visitors to the future. Several museums—including the Smithsonian, Powerhouse Museum and our own Bay Area star, the California Academy of Sciences—have apps that help their patrons dive more into their exhibits. So instead of asking if you should have a Mobile App for Your Museum, perhaps you should ask, why don’t you have a Mobile App for Your Museum?
Art Center
The James Lemont Fogg Memorial Library at the Art Center College of Design allows patrons to access their library on the go with their custom-built Boopsie app. Fogg Memorial Library hosts not only books and DVDs, but it also carries a selection of magazines, newspapers, slides and images.
The Art Center Library Mobile App provides patrons with the traditional features of a Boopsie app, including Catalog Search, My Account and Locations & Hours, but also has some specialized content as well.
Inside the ACCD Library App
Check out their Library Floor Plans which link to an interactive map. When students of the James Lemont Fogg Memorial Library are looking for items in their catalog, they can quickly see where in the library the particular item is located. For instance, if you are looking for Materials for Design by Victoria Ballard Bell with Patrick Rand, you can select the location of the book in the app (in this case, HC Circulating Books, 721.044 B435m 2006) to see where the book is located in the library.
Students who use shuttles to get to and from campus can select the Shuttle Tracker tab for information about where the shuttle currently is and how long it will take to arrive at their specific location.
Faculty can place a reservation for one of the Faculty Technology Studios right from the app as well.
How Would a Mobile App for Your Museum Work?
A Mobile App for Your Museum can be used in several different ways:
| The Basics: (aka Visitor Information, Catalog Support/Search, etc.) | Of course you can always have the basic features added to Your Mobile App for Your Museum, like location & hours, catalog search, etc. |
| Walking/Audio Tours | You can create an audio tour to be hosted on a Mobile App for Your Museum; simply record the tour and send us the mp3 file. We will upload it to Your Mobile App. For an example of a great Walking Tour, be sure to check out Los Gatos Public Library’s Walking Tour of their new facility. For an another great example of an Audio Tour, listen to LMU’s Library Tour. |
| Interactive Museum Maps | Like the map provided by the ACCD Library App, you can provide us with an interactive map of Your Museum that you want to use in your Custom-Branded Mobile App. |
| Supplemental Exhibit Information | In an Art Museum, there is often much more behind the piece of art; the painter, materials used and image all have their own tale to tell. Does a particular item in your exhibit have an interesting back story you’d like to share? Simply create a feed that hosts the supplemental information you want shared and we can add it to Your App. |
| Easy Social Media Access | You can link to your Facebook/Twitter/Social Media feeds right in Your Mobile App for Your Museum for quick access. |
| Events/Exhibits | List your past, current and upcoming exhibits and events in an easy to access location on Your Mobile App for Your Museum. |
| Multilingual Features | Do you serve a multilingual community? You can provide your visitors with a multilingual experience, right from their smartphone or tablet. |
