This presentation was given at the RA in a Day pre-conference session at the 2009 Atlantic Provinces Library Association Conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

1. Social Catalogues: Enriching content that enhances RA Services Laurel Tarulli Collection Access Librarian Halifax Public Libraries tarulll@halifax.ca

2. Enhancing RA Services through the Library Catalogue What is a social catalogue? Folksonomies Enriched content Using what you’ve got

3. What is a Social Catalogue? User-friendly interfaces Invites users to participate and contribute Customization Enriched content

4. The Face of a Social Catalogue

9. Accommodates new concepts that may not be reflected in the controlled vocabulary of the catalogue

10. Follows desire lines, which are expressions of the direct needs of the usersSpiteri, L. (2007) The Structure and Form of Folksonomy Tags: The Road to the Public Library. Information Technology and Libraries.

12. Reflects needs of the community and interest of the community

13. Creates online communities of users with the same interests based on tagging patterns and usage

14. Encourages online communities of readers and user-driven RA services

15. Allows the library to build their collection on what users want, rather than what we think they wantSpiteri, L. (2007) The Structure and Form of Folksonomy Tags: The Road to the Public Library. Information Technology and Libraries.

17. Folksonomies/Tagging

18. Contributing reading suggestions and recommendations

19. Creating booklists

20. Ratings

22. Using what you’ve got Partnering with Collection Access (aka “The Cataloguing Department”) to enhance the catalogue and enhance RA services Halifax Public Libraries Personalized summaries created by the Readers’ Services Team that addresses appeals and read-a-likes Embedded reading lists in the catalogue Reading suggestions added to the bibliographic records Local genre headings/access points RA specific training on the library catalogue Coming Soon – AquaBrowser!

26. Books reviews by EPL customers

27. Add to my list (add to your account)

28. Recommend this title

29. What others are reading

33. Social Catalogues and RA Services Enhances collaboration between Collection Access and Readers’ Services Our collections are based on our readers’ wants and interests Encourages an online community of readers RA moves out of the physical library and into the readers’ homes and community Encourages users to share reading ideas and interest with the library and each other – it becomes “their” library