Method 7--Tagging, folksonomies & social bookmarking in Del.icio.us

I think that the idea of libraries using tagging and social bookmarking is interesting. I can definitely see a use for it in a school library. I remember one time hearing some librarians discussing whether or not students and teachers should be allowed to tag the records of books in the library. Some thought it was a great idea since it would allow students to share ideas on sources for a class project or writing assignment. Some were outraged at the idea of a “non-librarian” being able to add a subject to a record. I thought about that when I read in Melissa L. Rethlefsen’s article that some librarians feel that “adding keywords to resources lacks authority control.”

Del.icio.us could be a very useful tool in a school library. As I mentioned above, students could help each other find resources. Teachers could create a reading list of websites that would be useful for other teachers. Everyone who works at a school is so busy these days--trying to teach and handle all of the extra work that is required--that having a list of reliable sources would probably be a welcome time-saver. Instead of each teacher re-inventing the wheel and searching the same websites that others have searched and rejected, they could build on the work of their colleagues.

I had set up a Del.icio.us account previously for a class that I took last year. I have not done a lot with it since then, but watching the videos and reading the articles for this Method have helped me realize that it can be a useful tool for me, both personally and professionally. It’s also fun to read the tags that are assigned to a bookmarked page and to explore more pages with that same tag. It’s like getting a glimpse into how someone else thinks.


Source Cited:
Rethlefsen, Melissa L. "Tags Help Make Libraries Del.icio.us." School Library Journal 15 Sep 2007 Web.29 Sep 2009.