Libraries Without Walls 7 presentation

The rise of recommendation and review:A place in online library environments?

Libraries Without Walls – LWW714 - 18 September 2007

Delphinia Hotel, Molyvos, Aegean Island of Lesvos, Greece

Kara Jones Kate RobinsonResearch Publications Librarian Head of Reader Services

Library & Learning CentreUniversity of Bath, UK.

Review and Recommendation

• User generated content

• Social

• Community focused

• Social technologies

• Familiar processes

Library Catalogue

• Authoritative

• No risk

• Quality controlled/assured

• Stand-alone/static

• Top-down

Bringing the two together

User generated content

reviews

recommendations

comments

+the library catalogue?

Academic perspective?

• How can an undergraduate possibly constructively comment on MY reading list?

Librarian perspective?

• What is the future for the library catalogue if we don't do this?

Library user perspective?

• How are you going to encourage me to add my reviews?

What have we done at Bath?

• Experimented on a ‘safe’ collection

– ‘Around the World in 80+ Books’

– Recommended by international students and staff as a ‘taster’ of their home countries

– Seeded conversation by encouraging international students to visit the collection site

Moderated reviews

• Attached a wiki space page to each catalogue record to record comments

• Login to comment, moderation in place

• Ratings function to be added

• Use this ‘safe’ environment as a small scale pilot project

• See what happens!

Questions?

Kate RobinsonHead of Reader ServicesLibrary & Learning CentreUniversity of BathEm: K.M.Robinson@bath.ac.uk

Kara JonesResearch Publications LibrarianLibrary & Learning CentreUniversity of BathEm: K.L.Jones@bath.ac.uk

15 September 2007