Comments on: deep participation in library catalogs http://www.walkingpaper.org/2019 A library design consultancy, shop and blog by Aaron Schmidt Thu, 09 Feb 2012 23:25:59 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Edward Vielmetti http://www.walkingpaper.org/2019/comment-page-1#comment-25273 Edward Vielmetti Mon, 18 May 2009 14:28:56 +0000 http://www.walkingpaper.org/?p=2019#comment-25273 I'd question the need to have a bezillion users to get a few usable reviews, and look at the problem from the other end of the telescope. If you have a handful of users all collected in a single portion of the catalog; and if they all care about that part of the catalog; and if the catalog's own search terminology fails to do a very good job of capturing the distinctions between books - Then with that handful of people you mark up or review or tag some portion of the collection which that community sees as "its own", and you work forward from that success. I'll point you to this anime collection in Ann Arbor: http://www.aadl.org/sopac/tag/anime/ and note that the official catalog term is "Animated television programs - Japan" which doesn't really capture it - and thus the unofficial tagging does a better job than any official cataloging can do for this niche. I'm more hopeful for cataloging than I am for reviews, giving the difficulty of writing a good paragraph about something vs. the relative ease of simply saying "this is in the same category as". I’d question the need to have a bezillion users to get a few usable reviews, and look at the problem from the other end of the telescope.

If you have a handful of users all collected in a single portion of the catalog; and if they all care about that part of the catalog; and if the catalog’s own search terminology fails to do a very good job of capturing the distinctions between books -

Then with that handful of people you mark up or review or tag some portion of the collection which that community sees as “its own”, and you work forward from that success.

I’ll point you to this anime collection in Ann Arbor:

http://www.aadl.org/sopac/tag/anime/

and note that the official catalog term is “Animated television programs – Japan” which doesn’t really capture it – and thus the unofficial tagging does a better job than any official cataloging can do for this niche.

I’m more hopeful for cataloging than I am for reviews, giving the difficulty of writing a good paragraph about something vs. the relative ease of simply saying “this is in the same category as”.

]]> By: Anne-Lise http://www.walkingpaper.org/2019/comment-page-1#comment-25242 Anne-Lise Wed, 13 May 2009 06:47:45 +0000 http://www.walkingpaper.org/?p=2019#comment-25242 The closest big-city library to me just implemented the option to write reviews, ad tags and so on, in their OPAC. Which is a wonderful idea, and I can't wait until *my* library implements the same. BUT - this library has made it so that you have to be a patron at *their* library to add content. I'm sure there are good, valid reasons for this - but the fact remains that although most of the books I read comes from their collection, I can't add content however much I want to - because I'm not one of *their* patrons. Which, frankly, makes me a little depressed about the future of such services. Because while, yes, you have to have an account at Amazon to add content - it's as simple as making your own. It takes, what? 30 seconds? Whereas, here, I'd have to go 20 miles out of my way to a library I've never set foot in, and have *them* do it. It's a wonderful idea, and a great concept - but we've got snags to sort out along the way... The closest big-city library to me just implemented the option to write reviews, ad tags and so on, in their OPAC. Which is a wonderful idea, and I can’t wait until *my* library implements the same.

BUT – this library has made it so that you have to be a patron at *their* library to add content. I’m sure there are good, valid reasons for this – but the fact remains that although most of the books I read comes from their collection, I can’t add content however much I want to – because I’m not one of *their* patrons.

Which, frankly, makes me a little depressed about the future of such services. Because while, yes, you have to have an account at Amazon to add content – it’s as simple as making your own. It takes, what? 30 seconds? Whereas, here, I’d have to go 20 miles out of my way to a library I’ve never set foot in, and have *them* do it.

It’s a wonderful idea, and a great concept – but we’ve got snags to sort out along the way…

]]> By: Mike http://www.walkingpaper.org/2019/comment-page-1#comment-25231 Mike Mon, 11 May 2009 18:12:48 +0000 http://www.walkingpaper.org/?p=2019#comment-25231 I take your point of having a deeper social catalog, but I also find the quoted statistic about reviews to be telling. There are two problems currently with the social OPAC. First of all, there are other places doing it better, with more users. Libraries have to decide how much effort they want to put in to competing with these other places. I am more likely to send someone to LibraryThing type site or even Amazon than any social OPAC. You can argue that it is not competition but complementary, but people only have so much time on their hands and libraries have only so much money to support social catalogs. I do know that there are some libraries harnessing these sites as well. The other challenging issue is that of community. I consider my library to be a part of many communities, including national and global. While users will get some use out of having a local community resource, they will be ill served if they are not part of a larger community as well. As a concrete example, romance books are not heavily used in my community, so our users are not well-served unless they are part of a larger or targeted community. I take your point of having a deeper social catalog, but I also find the quoted statistic about reviews to be telling. There are two problems currently with the social OPAC. First of all, there are other places doing it better, with more users. Libraries have to decide how much effort they want to put in to competing with these other places. I am more likely to send someone to LibraryThing type site or even Amazon than any social OPAC. You can argue that it is not competition but complementary, but people only have so much time on their hands and libraries have only so much money to support social catalogs. I do know that there are some libraries harnessing these sites as well.

The other challenging issue is that of community. I consider my library to be a part of many communities, including national and global. While users will get some use out of having a local community resource, they will be ill served if they are not part of a larger community as well. As a concrete example, romance books are not heavily used in my community, so our users are not well-served unless they are part of a larger or targeted community.

]]> By: Erik Rath http://www.walkingpaper.org/2019/comment-page-1#comment-25230 Erik Rath Mon, 11 May 2009 17:38:13 +0000 http://www.walkingpaper.org/?p=2019#comment-25230 I like the idea about incorporating content from enthusiast groups. If the library is transitioning to more of a community cultural center (which I would argue it is), and is also becoming partially dissociated from its buildings (ditto), then trying to include culture from outside of the libraries would make the OPAC and website far more useful to the Library system's goals. How many poetry-readings, author readings, musical events, plays, etc. are happening in the average city. Of these, how many are taped in one form or another? If the library actively courted cultural institutions and venues and provided space on their sites for this content, how much better would the sites represent the scope of the city's cultural life? I like the idea about incorporating content from enthusiast groups. If the library is transitioning to more of a community cultural center (which I would argue it is), and is also becoming partially dissociated from its buildings (ditto), then trying to include culture from outside of the libraries would make the OPAC and website far more useful to the Library system’s goals. How many poetry-readings, author readings, musical events, plays, etc. are happening in the average city. Of these, how many are taped in one form or another? If the library actively courted cultural institutions and venues and provided space on their sites for this content, how much better would the sites represent the scope of the city’s cultural life?

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