The Tagging Tangle Creating a librarian�s guide to tagging

The Tagging Tangle: Creating a librarian’s guide to tagging Gillian Hanlon, Information Officer Scottish Library & Information Council Introduction • Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC) – advisory body to the Scottish Government on library and information matters - members from library and information institutions • Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals in Scotland (CILIPS) - professional body supporting individual members from all sectors - affiliated with CILIP UK • SLAINTE (Scottish Libraries Across the INTErnet) – shared website: http://www.slainte.org.uk SLAINTE 2.0 http://www.slainte.org.uk/slainte2/ Creating a librarian’s guide to tagging: first steps What are we tagging? • freely available Web 2.0/Social networking services • Library management systems Why do we need guidelines? • benefits of tagging • professional standards and good practice Creating a librarian’s guide to tagging: background issues • Scope of the project - local level guidelines • Review of other work in the field – limited research undertaken elsewhere • Open to collaboration within Scotland – low level feedback • Still low level of Web 2.0 use in Scotland – starting to change • More activity in the academic sector but very limited in public libraries – access issues Creating a librarian’s guide to tagging: the challenges • Variations in interface and functionality • Use of additional fields – title, description Specific tagging issues: • Synonyms and homonyms – no control • Uncontrolled vocabulary - wide variation in tags • Specificity – varies according to level of expertise • Longevity of tags – in terms of evolving vocabularies • Spaces and multiple words – variation in process • Personal versus social - popularity of tags such as mystuff and toread Tagging guidelines in practice Tagging without Guidelines Future developments: new guidelines • Engage with key partners and wider community to encourage input. • Promoting uptake in the library world: - Edinburgh City Council - Further Education Standards • Promoting uptake beyond the library world: - the demand for guidelines? - facilitating sharing - raising awareness and promoting use Future developments: horizon scanning • Library 2.0 model increasingly adopted as user’s expectations shift. • Evidence from research suggests arrival at a “tag consensus” over time. • Technological developments that are likely to change the systems for processing tags and need for guidelines – towards “universal tags”? Contact details • Presentation on slideshare • Follow tweets on twitter for work updates See http://www.slainte.org.uk/slainte2/ for details • Existing guidelines: http://www.slainte.org.uk/slainte2/index.htm • Email: Gillian Hanlon slic1@slainte.org.uk