MTagger Integrating Social Bookmarking into Library Content Ken Varnum Web Systems Manager University of Michigan Library Michigan Library Association 2009

Introduction

A Brief History of Social Bookmarking Late 1990s – lots of small networked bookmark services (links in the protocloud) Early 2000s saw Del.icio.us come into being Added tagging to online bookmarks Coined term “Social Bookmarking ” Gained millions of users, eventually sold to Yahoo!

Late 1990s – lots of small networked bookmark services (links in the protocloud)

Early 2000s saw Del.icio.us come into being

Added tagging to online bookmarks

Coined term “Social Bookmarking ”

Gained millions of users, eventually sold to Yahoo!

Tagging Moves Into Mainstream Facebook Technorati Flickr Amazon Twitter (#mla2009) Etc., etc., etc.

Facebook

Technorati

Flickr

Amazon

Twitter (#mla2009)

Etc., etc., etc.

Why? Seems that everyone feels the need to categorize & organize (not just us librarians!) Tool for us to share our knowledge, expertise, opinion Leave tracks for the future – Kilroy Was Here

Seems that everyone feels the need to categorize & organize (not just us librarians!)

Tool for us to share our knowledge, expertise, opinion

Leave tracks for the future – Kilroy Was Here

Tagging at MLibrary Enhance findability of objects Enable future researchers to follow existing paths Generate source of improved metadata Let our patrons find things a second time

Enhance findability of objects

Enable future researchers to follow existing paths

Generate source of improved metadata

Let our patrons find things a second time

Tagging Goodness is Baked Right In Web site Catalog Digital images Digital publications Bookmarklet for everything else

Web site

Catalog

Digital images

Digital publications

Bookmarklet for everything else

Usage vs. Expectations Enhance findability of objects Enable future researchers to follow existing paths Generate source of improved metadata Let our patrons find things a second time

Enhance findability of objects

Enable future researchers to follow existing paths

Generate source of improved metadata

Let our patrons find things a second time

Usage As of 11/04/09 2395 total users (1015 active) 5033 tags (4145 unique) 11552 items tagged

As of 11/04/09

2395 total users (1015 active)

5033 tags (4145 unique)

11552 items tagged

I Tried It, But I Didn’t Inhale Majority of taggers tag one item. Once. Faculty, staff, students Not as broadly / deeply as we’d like Most items tagged by one person Most items tagged with a single tag

Majority of taggers tag one item. Once.

Faculty, staff, students

Not as broadly / deeply as we’d like

Most items tagged by one person

Most items tagged with a single tag

A Note on Privacy Tagging tied to U-M single sign-on (uniqname); guest accounts welcome Accountability & public face Balance of anonymity and sharing Most feedback on this issue from a single source

Tagging tied to U-M single sign-on (uniqname); guest accounts welcome

Accountability & public face

Balance of anonymity and sharing

Most feedback on this issue from a single source

Usability Study Conducted over four months in summer 2008 Two students at U-M School of Information Librarians on steering committee Heuristic evaluation In-depth user interviews

Conducted over four months in summer 2008

Two students at U-M School of Information

Librarians on steering committee

Heuristic evaluation

In-depth user interviews

Usability: Interface Problems

Usability: Interface Problems

Usability: Purpose of Tagging Unclear to users Personal motivations are stronger than social motivations “What’s in it for me” not apparent Tagging is a "Librarian" thing

Unclear to users

Personal motivations are stronger than social motivations

“What’s in it for me” not apparent

Tagging is a "Librarian" thing

Usability Recommendations Tag cloud display on pages Tag cloud display in MTagger Preference for tag display alongside traditional search results Handling of “collections” Workflow

Tag cloud display on pages

Tag cloud display in MTagger

Preference for tag display alongside traditional search results

Handling of “collections”

Workflow

Lessons Learned Motivations Outcomes Enable personal reference library Contextualize the material

Motivations

Outcomes

Enable personal reference library

Contextualize the material

Motivations To find things again To pull together research To share with others

To find things again

To pull together research

To share with others

Outcomes Easier sharing: Tags Tagged items User lists Publish to other social networking tools

Easier sharing:

Tags

Tagged items

User lists

Publish to other social networking tools

Personal Reference Library Tagging is less a goal than a byproduct Be more like Zotero, CiteULike, Reinvention of ‘My Library’

Tagging is less a goal than a byproduct

Be more like Zotero, CiteULike,

Reinvention of ‘My Library’

Context is King A tagged item shouldn’t wander the wilderness What’s related? How can I use it?

A tagged item shouldn’t wander the wilderness

What’s related?

How can I use it?

In a Broader Context There’s an RLG group devoted to social media A survey is underway at Survey Monkey: http://bit.ly/4xN52Z A few findings from our analysis – courtesy of Karen Smith-Yoshimura at RLG

There’s an RLG group devoted to social media

A survey is underway at Survey Monkey: http://bit.ly/4xN52Z

A few findings from our analysis – courtesy of Karen Smith-Yoshimura at RLG

Some Observations Great variety of sites – many new Success tied to objective and audience, not necessarily traffic Value in leveraging “sense of community” Some sites heavily moderated, others not at all Strict credentialing limits effectiveness Lots of features of little value if not used and require more documentation, overhead Courtesy Karen Smith-Yoshimura, RLG

Great variety of sites – many new

Success tied to objective and audience, not necessarily traffic

Value in leveraging “sense of community”

Some sites heavily moderated, others not at all

Strict credentialing limits effectiveness

Lots of features of little value if not used and require more documentation, overhead

Some More Observations Few sites use ranking, filtering mechanisms, use patterns to guide visitors Institution-specific sites have fewer contributions than aggregate sites Tags contributed on network-level of more value Tagging is most useful when there is no existing metadata (e.g. photos, videos, audio) Need “critical mass” and “sense of community” (existing or created) Courtesy Karen Smith-Yoshimura, RLG

Few sites use ranking, filtering mechanisms, use patterns to guide visitors

Institution-specific sites have fewer contributions than aggregate sites

Tags contributed on network-level of more value

Tagging is most useful when there is no existing metadata (e.g. photos, videos, audio)

Need “critical mass” and “sense of community” (existing or created)

Why Contribute? (Prelim) Tie-in to community of fellow enthusiasts Ongoing conversation from own lives Pragmatic Feeling of contributing to the “brand” of the institution or community Enhance own reputation Courtesy Karen Smith-Yoshimura, RLG

Tie-in to community of fellow enthusiasts

Ongoing conversation from own lives

Pragmatic

Feeling of contributing to the “brand” of the institution or community

Enhance own reputation

MTagger’s Goals Today Put tagging in the flow Put emphasis on the patron Tagging as background activity; saving as foreground Improve the interface for secondary discovery Mirlyn (catalog) is model

Put tagging in the flow

Put emphasis on the patron

Tagging as background activity; saving as foreground

Improve the interface for secondary discovery

Mirlyn (catalog) is model

Bigger Picture Benefit to scale (delicious, flickr) Benefit to academic (“serious”) focus Mechanism needed for sharing tags across libraries

Benefit to scale (delicious, flickr)

Benefit to academic (“serious”) focus

Mechanism needed for sharing tags across libraries

Open APIs Programmatically query for an item/user/tag, find out what associated elements are Uses include research guides, current awareness Are we already pulling old Mirlyn items into Vufind Mirlyn via MTagger?

Programmatically query for an item/user/tag, find out what associated elements are

Uses include research guides, current awareness

Are we already pulling old Mirlyn items into Vufind Mirlyn via MTagger?

Open Code Current MTagger is Available Contact me for link Future code will also be available

Current MTagger is Available

Contact me for link

Future code will also be available

Open Tagging We would be happy to explore building social bookmarking into other library sites using our code; code is available. The more the merrier Want to tag in our pool? Contact me

We would be happy to explore building social bookmarking into other library sites using our code; code is available.

The more the merrier

Want to tag in our pool?

Contact me

Concluding Thoughts Social Bookmarking is a social phenomenon Has a clear motivation for the tagger – find my stuff again Connect that motivation to the library patron Research trails will follow

Social Bookmarking is a social phenomenon

Has a clear motivation for the tagger – find my stuff again

Connect that motivation to the library patron

Research trails will follow

Thank You Email: [email_address] Twitter: @varnum RSS4Lib (blog): http://www.rss4lib.com/ Slides: http://www.slideshare.net/KenVarnum MTagger: http://www.lib.umich.edu/mtagger/

Email: [email_address]

Twitter: @varnum

RSS4Lib (blog): http://www.rss4lib.com/

Slides: http://www.slideshare.net/KenVarnum

MTagger: http://www.lib.umich.edu/mtagger/