Social Tagging IN Library OPACSPhilip Whitford

Introduction & Outline

• Social Tagging• Basic Terms• Current Conversation• Functionality• How’s It Being Used• Search Language?

Social TaggingBasic Terms

Web 2.0Websites that rely heavily on users contributing content.

Library 2.0Library websites that rely heavily on users contributing content.

Social TagsUser generated words and phrases to describe online content.

Folksonomies The clustering of social tags from the point of view of a collection or community.

Social AnnotationsAny form of content that is added to an online document (can include social tags).

The Current Conversation

Current Conversation

Kwan, Yi, and Chan Lois Mai. 2009. "Linking folksonomy to Library of Congress subject headings: an exploratory study." Journal Of Documentation 65, no. 6: 872-

900.

Compared social tags in Delicious to LCSH

“60.9 percent of the tags fall in the category of complete-word match with at least one subject heading in the subject authority file.”

Yi and Mai (cont.)

Current Conversation

Thomas, Marliese, Dana M. Caudle, and Cecilia Schmitz. "Trashy tags: problematic tags in LibraryThing." New Library World 111, no. 5/6 (July 2010): 223-

235.

“In particular, lexical anomalies (e.g. grammatical variations) and lack of synonym, homonym, and homograph control could result in a high probability of noise and recall in users’ search results at the expense of retrieval precision, making it difficult to pull together similar or related resources.” (emphasis mine)

Thomas et al (cont.)

Thomas et al (cont.)

How It is Being UsedSocial Tagging

How to Add a Tag to the OPAC

How to Add a Tag to the OPAC

Using Tags

Think Unlimited

Go beyond the individual item

Connect to the collection in a new way

Adding NL to the OPAC

Objective v. Subjective (The Best…)

Genre Tags

Age Level/Grade Level

Subgenre (Cozy Mystery)

Crossgenre (Paranormal Romance)

Fringegenre (Environmental Fiction)

Using Tags

Use single words unless necessary

Could this be problematic?

Another Game! Name This BookUsing LCSHs identify the book

What Book Am I?

• New York (N.Y.) — Fiction

What Book Am I?

• New York (N.Y.) — Fiction

• Runaway Teenagers — Fiction

What Book Am I?

• New York (N.Y.) — Fiction

• Runaway Teenagers — Fiction

• Caulfield, Holden (Fictitious Character) — Fiction

What Book Am I?

• New York (N.Y.) — Fiction

• Runaway Teenagers — Fiction

• Caulfield, Holden (Fictitious Character) — Fiction

• Runaway Teenagers — New York (State) — New York — Fiction

What Movie Am I?

• Feature Films

What Movie Am I?

• Feature Films

• World War, 1939-1945 — Refugees — Drama

What Movie Am I?

• Feature Films

• World War, 1939-1945 — Refugees — Drama

• Morocco — History — 20th Century — Drama

What Movie Am I?

• Feature Films

• World War, 1939-1945 — Refugees — Drama

• Morocco — History — 20th Century — Drama

• World War, 1939-1945 — Underground Movements — Drama

Another Game! Name This BookUsing Tags identify the book

What Book Am I?

•epic• fantasy• literature - europe•middle earth•premiers reading challenge 2009

• top 100•uear 9•year 10•year 9

What Book Am I?

•1001-list•2011•boston latin school

•class iv• read 2 of required

How Social Tagging is Being UsedExamples:

Seattle Public Library

Books That Were Evaluated• A Death in the Family• My Antonia• The Last of the Mohicans• The Red Badge of Courage• An American Tragedy• Invisible Man• Light in August• The Great Gatsby• So Big• The Sun Also Rises• Their Eyes Were Watching God• On the Road• One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest• To Kill A Mockingbird• Babbitt

• White Fang• Moby Dick• Tropic of Cancer• The Moviegoer• Great Short Works of Edgar Allan Poe• The Catcher in the Rye• The Grapes of Wrath• Uncle Tom's Cabin• The Magnificent Ambersons• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn• Slaughterhouse-five• The Optimist's Daughter• Miss Lonelyhearts• The Age of Innocence• Native Son

The Data:

LCSH

147 Subject Headings

4.9 SH/Book

Highest # - 11 SH

93.3% Have SH

2 Books with 0 SH

Tags

191 Tags

6.4 Tags/Book

Highest # - 59

73.3 Have Tags

8 Books with 0 SH

The Data: The Age of Innocents LCSH

• Love Stories• Domestic Fiction• Separated People — Fiction• Manners and Customs — Fiction• Triangles (Interpersonal Relations)

— Fiction• Marriage — New York (State)

— New York — Fiction• Upper Class — New York (State) —

New York — Fiction• New York (N.Y.)

— Social Life and Customs — Fiction

• Man-woman Relationships — New York (State) — New York — Fiction

• United States — Social Life and Customs — 19th Century

Tags• 1001-list• books made into movies• new york city• pulitzer prize winner• romantic• tuesday afternoon book

group• turn-of-the-century

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

• si-fi• technology• science fiction• distopia• dark• blade runner• androids• reality• social commentary• science fiction• androids

• empathy• sci-fi• stark• science fiction• dark• grim• unpredictable• bleak• androids• future• love

What about World Wars?

• World War – 104• WWI – 20• WW I – 2• WW1 – 2• World War I – 16• World War 1 – 4• First World War - 2

• WWII – 50• WW II – 13• WW2 – 8• War World 2 – 19• World War II – 61• World War 2 – 19• Second World War – 2

Popular Fiction

New Fiction

Popular Non-Fiction

New Non-Fiction

More Data:

A Search Language?Social Tagging

SPL – 902,662 Records

SPL – 47,552 Records Missing SH

* NOT .SW=*

No Such Luck In Bibliocommons

The Data:

Who Can Benefit?

•Alternative Publishers•Web Born Publications•Sub Genres•Readings Levels•Current Events•Multidisciplinary Books•Reader Advisory

Who Is The Authority?

What’s The Harm?

What’s The Harm?

What’s The Harm?

What’s The Harm?

What’s The Harm?

What’s The Harm?

What’s The Harm?

What’s The Harm?