Librarians' attitudes towards mobile services

Purpose ‐ The purpose of this paper is to explore whether librarians are familiar with technological innovations and are ready to accept them. The objectives are: to what extent does the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) explain librarians' perceptions of mobile services (m-services); and to what extent do differences in gender, age, workplace, role, and smart phone use explain librarians' perceptions of m-services? Design/methodology/approach ‐ The research was conducted in Israel during the first semester of the 2012 academic year. It encompassed three groups of Israeli librarians: academic, public, and special. Researchers used two questionnaires to gather data: a personal details questionnaire, and a mobile technology questionnaire. Findings ‐ This study supported the two core variables model (perceived ease of use and usefulness) of TAM that may predict librarians' behavioral intention to use m-services in the library. However, it added two more components to the model: personal innovativeness and smart phone usage. Practical implications ‐ Library directors may try to implement more m-services on their web sites. These services should be simple, attractive, and efficient. They should also try to expose librarians to the benefits and ease of use of m-services. Originality/value ‐ The findings emphasize the importance of the TAM that may predict librarians' behavioral intention to use m-services in the library and may lead to further research in this field.