Common Craft: Social Bookmarking in Plain English
Tagging: Label and Share it Your Way!
Tagging is the process of assigning keywords (‘tags’) to an image, webpage, or article so that you can conveniently find it later. Internet use of the word "tag" may have its origins in urban gang culture. When urban gangs do "tagging," however, most of us would desctribe it as graffiti! When library users do their own tagging, the process is sometimes described as folksonomy.
Tags give us the opportunity to use our own personal vocabularies. A professional cataloger describing a cookbook using Library of Congress Subject Headings would apply the subject heading ‘cookery.’ But a library user adding tags would probably use ‘cookbooks,’ ‘recipes,’ or some other commonly-used terms. User tagging is so popular that some libraries now make their collections searchable through a combination of Library of Congress Subject Headings and user-created tags.
Library records are not the only items you might wish to tag! Shared tagging really started to take off in 2003 when del.icio.us users began to share tags for websites. At about the same time, Flickr users starting tagging their photographs, and now Facebook Friends "tag" each other in online photos. Book lovers joined in the social tagging trend with the launch of LibraryThing in 2005.
You can read more about the history and vocabulary of tagging in Wikipedia.
Class Resources
During SPLAT 101’s "Tagging Week," I will available for SPLAT 101 "office hours" using IM. If you have questions or comments, please send me a message weekdays between 10 a.m. and noon, Pacific time. My IM addresses are listed in the SPLAT Members profile at the left side of your screen. I’ll look forward to hearing from you! –Ruth Funabiki
For your first assignment, visit some popular tagging websites. Then, create a few tags for your own use. Enjoy!
If you are not a regular user of the following sites, please visit each of them now:
- del.icio.us
- Flickr (Be sure to visit their tagging FAQ!)
- LibraryThing
Then, check out these two library sites! The first link points to a catalog that includes a tagging feature while the second goes to a library’s del.icio.us account for the public.
- Ann Arbor District Library’s catalog (The tagging is over on the right side of the OPAC screen. Look for their tag cloud as well!)
- Lansing Public Library’s del.icio.us page
Class Assignment
Create a LibraryThing account and add five titles. For each title, add at least three tags that you might use. Then blog about your experience at the Idaho Commission for Libraries’ new website.
Extra Credit
Create a del.icio.us account for yourself and tag 10 of your "Favorites" from home or work.
My boss encouraged me to check this site out some time ago. I have an account but had not used it until this class. It is very easy and I am always delighted to have my “lists” sorted, alphabetically and now “tagged.”
Splat 101 has been a great refresher course just when I needed it. Thanks everyone.
I think I sent my comment last night, but I did a lot of work on this “class” yesterday and just want to be sure. Tagging was enjoyable and meaningful to me. I do a lot of searching on our VALNet catalog, so I use tags a lot even though I had not created any. I felt that putting tags on the web sites was even more helpful than simply having a single folder in which to find them. Putting tags on the 10 favorites in the extra credit assignment was good experience and followed the same thought process that is used in finding books and audio books. Thanks for offering this entire experience. It really stretched (and stressed) me. I learned a lot and now I know some of the the vocabulary involved with these areas.
You bet. Gets the “library side” of your brain all stirred up, doesn’t it? 😉
Ruth Funabiki
Just my opinion, but: Don’t worry about consistency in your tags at first. Let your tag vocabulary develop “organically.” Then, it will be personal to you. When you find duplicates, YOU will get to choose if you want to use one term instead of the other, or whether you want to continue to use both terms.
Ruth Funabiki
You can also use Del.icio.us tags to take some of the typos out of online demonstrations! Just tag the web sites you are planning to use with, for example “111908”–the date of the demonstration. Then, instead of having your audience wait while you type, the right pages open quickly and accurately.
Ruth Funabiki
I enjoyed this lesson more than some, because it seemed to be easier to understand the process. It did take a little work with a friend to figure out just how to add tags on the Extra Credit del.icio.us account. I would think that I would use LibraryThing quite a bit.
I love Library Thing! I fear the moment I reach the 200-books-free limit, though, which is why I’m glad Shelfari exists. I am going to try importing my Firefox bookmarks into Delicious, like one of these posts suggested. I imagine tagging to be really similar to bookmarks, except more useful. yay! these courses have been great fun, by the way, and very informative.
I can see how tags can really be useful, especially if you had it set up for library patrons to access as part of the library catalog. I’m just not sure I like how Library thing is set up where you have to pay if you add over 200 books. I had looked at this site before, but didn’t sign up because of this. I already have added about that many books to my Goodreads page and can’t imagine having to pay to add more. If I am going to use such a service for personal use, I would never pay for it.
I stated a delicious account quite a while ago, and never went back to really work with it…so I am glad I did now. Very handy, and I like what Greg did with his at his school library. Creative use of tagging for teachers and students. I already have a Shelfari account that I love. It is great for an aging mind to remember what I read and what I loved. All of my ‘friends’ are district librarians, so that we can share what we are reading and help reduce the need to read every new book that crosses our desks. It is nice to be able to tag the books with genre and reader audience. This really helps direct kids towards books they might love to read.
It makes sense to use common terms to tag books, because it makes the catalog easier for your average Joe to search for items. We know the terms we use to catalog, but sometimes people are confused by the particular term we choose. Sometimes an item has only one or two subject headings to search by, but it could have a ton of tags. That makes it easier to search for the item too.
I hadn’t done very much with tagging before, but no that I have played with Library Thing I think that I will be using is much more in the future. It’s so much fun! I really like the social tagging part.
Glad you liked it! Both Library Thing and Del.icio.us get us thinking again about how we organize information–both for ourselves and for our community.
Ruth Funabiki
At first I was a little confused as to how tagging worked and what it was used for, especially with the different sites. But as I used it, it made sense. I am fascinated with Library Thing! I will go there again. This assignment was fun. I can see how tagging can be very useful.
What fun this was and how easy to start a library. We have had no way of getting books on the computer but this just may work. How interesting and quick it was………….Just have to add the tags at some point.
Isn’t it great to have personalized access to this stuff without having to create your own database/cardfile?
Shelfari seems to be very popular. Maybe we can feature it if we do a SPLAT “102.”
Ruth Funabiki
I’ve wanted to try Library Thing since the ILA conference and it is awesome! Can’t wait to share this with my mother for her personal library. Hope to add my own book collection over Christmas break. Thanks to Michael Samuelson I have been using del.icio.us for almost a year.
I think it might take some practice to really key in on the tags that make the most sense to me–kind of like creating categories when blogging. What I like about this in the LibraryThing context is that we can create some fun tags that might encourage folks to dig deeper into the collection. Having tags like, “Tearjerker,” “Chick Lit,” or Rainy Day Reads” might get some fresh interest in the collection. Having organizational tags like “Beginning Personal Finance” as opposed to just “Economics” or “Money” would also be a cool way to help people find what they need at their convenience.
I’d recommend starting in on the tags pretty soon!
Ruth Funabiki
I was getting overwhelmed with the number of bookmarks I have and have been thinking of trying delicious, so this was a great lesson. I uploaded all of my bookmarks from firefox (very easy by the way) and I am off. Am trying to turn over strictly to that so I can access them from anywhere. Not sure I would use the LibraryThing as much, I am using Shelfari and that seems to work for now.
Thanks for sharing! Are you arranging your Favorites into groups, or did you just “tag” them all by name?
Ruth Funabiki
This was very interesting and I hope to find more time to explore the possibilities further.
Tagging, along with the other cool programs we’ve been enlightened to over these past 6 weeks, can be greatly beneficial. The hardest part will be retraining my brain to think about using them instead of staying in automatic mode with the ‘old fashioned’ methods of communication. Thank you to all the SPLAT staff for making this possible.
Glad you liked it! I use my del.icio.us tags almost every hour or so, all day long.
Ruth Funabiki
Good for you! I hope it doesn’t take too long …
Ruth Funabiki
I hope you have an OPAC someday soon that lets you and your patrons add their own tags…
Why bother with Library Thing when you can have a whole, real, library?
Ruth Funabiki
“Tearjerker” was one of mymother’s favorite words! And, everyone will know EXACTLY what you mean…
A nice feature in both Library Thing and Del.icio.us is the ability to edit your tags over time. It’s LOT easier than trying to get LC to change a subject heading!
Ruth Funabiki
You’re very welcome. Pass it on!
Ruth Funabiki
I thought I had at least heard of, and understood a little about, most of the SPLAT topics, but this one was new. I like the fact one can keep one’s tags private. I read through the entire site before I joined just to make sure I could keep everything private. I realize this defeats the “social networking” aspect, but I’m more comfortable this way. I might at some future time share with some select folks.
Splat has been a great learning tool for the staff at our library. Everyone was required to complete it, and even though some feel it is over their heads, at least we’ve experienced a little and it will make more sense next time.
Thank you for doing this!
The privacy feature came in really handy in my library. I created a del.icio.us account for the library where we store our account numbers and passwords for library vendors along with the vendor websites. Naturally, we keep the account and password information private! Now, everybody on the staff has efficient access to vendor information, and all of us are equipped to handle RUSH orders when necessary.
Ruth Funabiki
I had a good time with this one! It was new to me and I can see that tagging will be a good tool to use. KH
I had to re-read the material about tags and Library Thing before it became clear. Quite a unique concept! It’ll be great to use it to organize bookmarks.
I have uploaded my book marks from home and work together on one account. Now I need to go through and add tags to each one. a long process at this point. I can see how this will be helpful when I am finished.
I’m another one who has a Delicious account (both personal and for the library) and hasn’t used it much. This was good incentive and hopefully my staff, after this lesson, will start tagging interesting sites they find. I love LibraryThing…I started cataloging my own books and it didn’t take long to reach the 200 book limit, but LT is so easy to use I paid the one-time charge to join.
Fun!
I’ve been using delicious for a few months and find it helpful for locating my sites remotely. Librarything is something I had heard quite alot about but had never taken the time to explore–very cool! The thought of cataloging my home library is truly thrilling! Sad, but true. I’m not sure how the tagging thing will work as I seem inconsistent in my vocabulary. I guess an authority file is the next step?
Fun!