This document outlines a research project exploring how social discovery tools in public library catalogs can complement traditional readers' advisory services. The researchers will analyze user-generated tags and reviews for fiction titles in BiblioCommons and Encore catalogs to see what types of access points readers provide and how these compare to traditional RA categories. They will then examine how social tools can help readers find connections and provide grassroots recommendations, and how libraries can use this information. The goal is to better understand readers' needs and perspectives in catalog records for fiction.
Ethnographic research final - graduate design management Aidenn Mullen
This is a final project for class 711 Contextual Methods of research ( ethnography ) with our topic focus being the innovative role of today's community library.
The document provides an overview of a research project studying community libraries. It includes:
1. The project will study 3 community libraries through interviews, observations, and an image sorting exercise to understand how libraries are defining themselves, opportunities for growth, and the relationship between libraries and their communities.
2. The research aims to uncover insights about community libraries' value, areas for improvement, and how they can evolve to meet future needs.
3. The methodology, timeline, deliverables, and interview guides are described to provide context around the research study.
This document discusses the benefits of providing readers' advisory services through library catalogs. It argues that integrating reading recommendations directly into catalogs allows readers to access personalized suggestions anytime, anywhere without needing to visit the library in person or speak to an advisor. Key benefits include removing barriers to readers seeking suggestions, fostering an online community of readers, strengthening collection development, and meeting new expectations for remote, personalized services. The document outlines several ways reading lists, reviews, and read-alike suggestions could be seamlessly embedded within catalog records and interfaces.
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The document discusses how the Halifax Public Libraries' new library catalogue, called Discover, can be used as a readers' advisory tool. It provides several ways reference librarians can help patrons find similar titles to ones they enjoyed, including searching by genre, facets like themes, and connecting patrons to others with similar reading interests through the My Discoveries feature. Local librarians are encouraged to contribute content like reviews, tags, and read-alike lists to help patrons discover new materials.
This document summarizes research on how user-generated content in online public access catalogues (OPACs) can strengthen readers' advisory services in Canadian public libraries. User tags and reviews of fiction titles were analyzed from 43 library catalogues. The analysis found that tags and reviews provided more affective and experiential descriptions than traditional subject headings. User content also categorized titles based on elements like tone, readability, and personal recommendations, in addition to factual categories like characters and settings. The research suggests that social discovery tools allow users to belong to a wider reading community and provide more complete depictions of works' contents and emotional impacts.
Ethnographic research final - graduate design management Aidenn Mullen
This is a final project for class 711 Contextual Methods of research ( ethnography ) with our topic focus being the innovative role of today's community library.
The document provides an overview of a research project studying community libraries. It includes:
1. The project will study 3 community libraries through interviews, observations, and an image sorting exercise to understand how libraries are defining themselves, opportunities for growth, and the relationship between libraries and their communities.
2. The research aims to uncover insights about community libraries' value, areas for improvement, and how they can evolve to meet future needs.
3. The methodology, timeline, deliverables, and interview guides are described to provide context around the research study.
This document discusses the benefits of providing readers' advisory services through library catalogs. It argues that integrating reading recommendations directly into catalogs allows readers to access personalized suggestions anytime, anywhere without needing to visit the library in person or speak to an advisor. Key benefits include removing barriers to readers seeking suggestions, fostering an online community of readers, strengthening collection development, and meeting new expectations for remote, personalized services. The document outlines several ways reading lists, reviews, and read-alike suggestions could be seamlessly embedded within catalog records and interfaces.
Discover! Library Catalogues and RA ServicesLaurel Tarulli
The document discusses how the Halifax Public Libraries' new library catalogue, called Discover, can be used as a readers' advisory tool. It provides several ways reference librarians can help patrons find similar titles to ones they enjoyed, including searching by genre, facets like themes, and connecting patrons to others with similar reading interests through the My Discoveries feature. Local librarians are encouraged to contribute content like reviews, tags, and read-alike lists to help patrons discover new materials.
This document summarizes research on how user-generated content in online public access catalogues (OPACs) can strengthen readers' advisory services in Canadian public libraries. User tags and reviews of fiction titles were analyzed from 43 library catalogues. The analysis found that tags and reviews provided more affective and experiential descriptions than traditional subject headings. User content also categorized titles based on elements like tone, readability, and personal recommendations, in addition to factual categories like characters and settings. The research suggests that social discovery tools allow users to belong to a wider reading community and provide more complete depictions of works' contents and emotional impacts.
The most popular term “Comparative Librarianship” was first used in 1954, when Chase Dane published two articles based on his experience of a study group at the GLS (Graduate Library school) of the University of Chicago.
This document discusses social librarianship and social libraries. It defines social librarianship as professional and non-professional librarians interacting online to catalog books and media. Social libraries allow users to build online catalogs and connect with others. Reasons for their popularity include collecting books for insurance purposes and finding recommendations. The document suggests ways libraries can get involved through participating in discussions and cataloging their collections on social library sites.
This presentation was provided by John G. Dove of Credo Reference during the NISO event "Next Generation Discovery Tools: New Tools, Aging Standards," held March 27 - March 28, 2008.
Social cataloguing sites: Features and implications for cataloguing practice ...Louise Spiteri
The document discusses social cataloguing sites and their potential implications for library catalogues. It finds that while social cataloguing sites lack comprehensive bibliographic data, they incorporate useful social features like reviews, ratings, tags and recommendations. The study examines 16 sites and compares their records and social features. It suggests libraries could link to social catalog sites and consider integrating social features into catalogues, like user reviews and ratings, discussions boards and tags, to make them more interactive and community-oriented. This may better meet user expectations and help libraries learn from the models of social sites.
The document discusses the concept and history of great books. It describes great books as foundational works of Western literature and thought that are considered timeless classics. The great books movement began in the 1920s-1930s when American academics wanted to improve higher education by returning to a liberal arts model of broad interdisciplinary learning through studying great works. Prominent figures like Mortimer Adler and Robert Hutchins helped develop great books programs focused on reading and discussing primary texts in small groups. The document outlines the criteria Adler used to select books for the great books list and principles for choosing texts that can support meaningful discussion.
The Public Library Catalogue as a Social Space: Usability Studies of User Int...Laurel Tarulli
This document summarizes a research study examining how users interact with and utilize social discovery features in public library catalogues. The study will analyze transaction logs from two Canadian library catalogues over four months, tracking user search behaviors, interactions with tagging, reviews and other social features. Future research will involve usability testing to understand how useful, effective and satisfying users find the catalogues and identify ways to improve the user experience. The goal is to provide libraries insights into how social features impact user behaviors and library services.
This document discusses the selection of materials for school library collections. It defines selection as maintaining a balanced collection by adding new materials and removing outdated ones. There are three basic selection philosophies: liberal, traditional, and pluralistic. A selection policy guides the process, outlining the scope, criteria, and procedures for adding and removing items. Selection responsibility typically falls to library media specialists. General criteria include subject coverage, demand, quality and balance. Selection tools that aid the process include review sources, bibliographies, and recommended lists. The goal is to select materials that meet community needs and support the school's educational goals.
This document discusses and summarizes several reference books related to libraries and changing user needs. It outlines key topics covered in the books, including consulting careers in libraries, adopting Web 2.0 technologies to improve the user experience, and addressing the needs of millennial generation library users. The summaries provide high-level overviews of the content and perspectives presented in each referenced book.
Who do they think we are? Addressing library identity perception in the academyMargot
This document summarizes a presentation given at the CARL Conference on April 6, 2014. It discusses a presentation given by Margot Hanson from California Maritime Academy and Annis Lee Adams from Golden Gate University titled "Who do they think we are? Addressing library identity perception in the academy." The presentation looked at how librarians are perceived by others and discussed research into how academics write about libraries and librarians online. It provided an overview of several studies and articles on topics such as the value of academic libraries, how academics use online forums, online disinhibition effects, and analyzing comments on library-related articles. Attendees were asked about their experiences with online commenting.
Who do they think we are? Addressing library identity perception in the academyAnnis Lee Adams
This document summarizes a presentation given at the CARL Conference on April 6, 2014. It discusses a presentation given by Margot Hanson from California Maritime Academy and Annis Lee Adams from Golden Gate University titled "Who do they think we are? Addressing library identity perception in the academy." The presentation looked at how librarians are perceived by others and discussed research into how academics write about libraries and librarians online. It provided an overview of several studies and articles on topics such as the value of academic libraries, how academics use online forums, online disinhibition effects, and analyzing comments on library-related articles. Attendees were asked about their experiences with online commenting.
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3) Brazil will allow prisoners to have sentences reduced by reading books and writing essays on them.
The document then discusses how the book is being transformed from a simple digital copy to a new networked object, and how this impacts concepts like openness, libraries, readers and knowledge.
Social Cataloguing Sites: Features and Implications for Cataloguing Practice ...Louise Spiteri
This document discusses social cataloguing sites and their potential implications for library catalogues. It finds that while social cataloguing sites lack comprehensive bibliographic data, they incorporate useful social features like reviews, ratings, tags and recommendations. The study analyzes 16 sites and compares their records and social features. It identifies communication, identity and perception heuristics. It concludes that library catalogues could benefit by incorporating social features to create more interactive records and online communities around materials. However, comprehensive bibliographic data should still be prioritized.
The Promise of Authority in Social Scholarshiplcohen
The document discusses the changing nature of scholarly authority and publishing in an increasingly social and participatory digital environment. It defines social scholarship as using networked social tools to publish and interact with scholarly output. Parameters of social scholarship include things like comments, reviews, bookmarks and ratings. Soft peer review can build authority through implicit and explicit social interactions with published work. New metrics of authority are emerging that incorporate social metadata around usage and conversation. This leads to new models of hybrid peer review and open access journal communities that blend traditional review with informal open review processes.
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This policy brief discusses strategic visions for the future of public libraries in the 21st century. It outlines four dimensions along which libraries can make strategic choices to confront challenges and opportunities: (1) physical to virtual presence, (2) focus on individual users versus community, (3) role as a collection versus enabling creation of content, and (4) functioning as a portal to information versus archiving information. The brief does not recommend particular visions, but suggests libraries determine their own strategic choices based on these dimensions and their specific situations to best serve patrons and communities.
The document outlines tasks for students to complete weekly over the course of 5 weeks as part of a non-fiction novel or biography unit. The weekly tasks require students to make connections between their reading and other areas including their interests, world, and schooling. They will also complete a culminating research presentation on a topic related to their novel. The document provides evaluation criteria in writing, reading, media, and oral communication for assessing student work.
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Who do they think we are? Addressing library identity perception in the academyMargot
This document summarizes a presentation given at the CARL Conference on April 6, 2014. It discusses a presentation given by Margot Hanson from California Maritime Academy and Annis Lee Adams from Golden Gate University titled "Who do they think we are? Addressing library identity perception in the academy." The presentation looked at how librarians are perceived by others and discussed research into how academics write about libraries and librarians online. It provided an overview of several studies and articles on topics such as the value of academic libraries, how academics use online forums, online disinhibition effects, and analyzing comments on library-related articles. Attendees were asked about their experiences with online commenting.
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Writing in academic context requires writers to comply with certain conventions. One important aspect of these conventions is that of citing or incorporating materials from other writers. It is argued that, by confirming to the conventions of citation, writers not only negotiate membership in a particular academic community, but also establish epistemological framework, which is embedded in the context of the discipline. Therefore, this paper discusses the connection between citation practices and students’ success in their academic discipline. It raises students’ awareness of the fact that their success in their chosen academic discipline partly depends on their ability to comply with citation convention.
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The public library catalogue as a social space: A case study of social discov...
OPACs, users, and readers’ advisory: Exploring the implication of user-generated content for readers’ advisory in Canadian public libraries
1. OPACs, users, and readers’ advisory:
Exploring the implication of usergenerated content for readers’
advisory in Canadian public libraries
Louise Spiteri, Dalhousie University
Jen Pecoskie, Wayne State University
2. Social reading, 1
Social media websites that allow for the creation and
exchange of user-generated content have exploded in
popularity and allow users to connect with each other over
various themes and topics. This popularity extends to the use
of libraries and books and reading-related culture.
2
3. Social reading, 2
Social media sites like GoodReads and LibraryThing provide popular
platforms for people to share and discuss their reading interests.
Corporate online booksellers such as Amazon include social
components within their online sales catalogues.
– Amazon customers can choose to include personalized reviews in the records
of books and other items, which can be read and possibly used by other
customers in their decision-making process to purchase reading material.
3
4. Book review landscape
The book review landscape has changed significantly
in the past few years:
“Reviewing is no longer centralized, with a few big
voices leading the way, but fractured among numerous
multifarious voices found mostly on the web. In
turn, readers aren't playing the captive audience any
more”
Hoffert, B. (2010). Every reader a reviewer. Library Journal, 135(14), 22–25.
4
11. Social reading and public libraries
Various online public access catalogues (OPACs) are
integrating social discovery platforms such as
BiblioCommons and Encore that allow readers to
connect with each other through user-generated
contents such as
reviews, comments, recommendations, or tags.
11
12. Traditional readers’ advisory model, 1
Readers' advisory (RA) is a service that involves suggesting
fiction and nonfiction titles to a reader through direct or
indirect means.
12
13. Traditional readers’ advisory model, 2
The traditional RA model is based on a face-to-face
discussion initiated by the reader, or sometimes, by a
proactive librarian, and is based very much on the
reference interview, and on the premise that direct
interpersonal contact is the best way to give service
and encourage future interactions.
13
14. Social reading sites and RA
Book-centred social networking sites such as GoodReads and
LibraryThing have introduced a new RA model that is driven and
facilitated by the readers themselves.
Members of these sites use their own descriptors (tags) and reviews to
“express what they like about what they have been reading or what
they want to read. They are in a relaxed environment, they are
taking their time, they are enjoying looking for the right words, or
even using creative terms to describe what they like”.
Stover, K. M. (2009). Stalking the wild appeal factor. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 48(3), 243–246.
14
15. How social discovery models can
complement RA, 1
Readers can establish a social space where they share and
discuss common reading interests
Readers can provide a grassroots, democratic readers’ advisory
service, whereby they make recommendations for future reading, for
example, based upon shared interests
Readers can classify items in the catalogue with their own
terms (or tags), which may be more reflective of their language
and needs than the formal subject headings that are
traditionally assigned by library staff. These tags can serve as
added access points by which users can search for items of
interest
15
16. How social discovery models can
complement RA, 2
Librarians and library staff can compile
recommended reading lists and make
purchasing decisions based on the reviews and
recommendations made by readers in the
catalogue
Librarians and library staff can interact with
readers, learn more about their needs, and
become part of the online community, rather than
as potential authority figures.
16
17. Scope of our research agenda
To examine the contribution of social catalogues and user-generated
content on readers’ advisory services in Canadian public libraries:
– What information about books are users sharing in social catalogues?
– How does shared information reflect principles and themes of RA?
– How, if at all, are social catalogues used as RA tools by users? By
librarians?
– What, if any, social connections are evident for reading purposes in
social catalogues?
17
18. Phase 1
A content analysis of
user-generated
content for a selection
of adult fiction titles in
Canadian public
libraries that use the
BiblioCommons and
Encore social
discovery systems to
address the following
research questions:
• What kind of content do users contribute
about adult fiction titles, i.e., tags and
reviews/comments?
• What categories of access points do users
provide about the content of adult fiction
titles, e.g., location, subject, genre, and so
forth?
• To what extent do user-contributed access
points parallel those established for the
traditional face-to-face RA model?
18
19. Selection of library catalogues, 1
The Canadian Public Libraries Gateway, which lists all public libraries in
Canada, was used to determine which libraries use social discovery
systems that allow users to contribute both tags and review/comments.
Because we wish to examine user-contributed content generated
specifically by public library users, those social discovery platforms that
indicated they import reviews from private, non-library entities, such as
GoodReads were not considered.
19
20. Selection of library catalogues, 2
This examination revealed that BiblioCommons and Encore
are the social discovery platforms most used by Canadian
public libraries and that met our criteria. We will examine the
entire population of Canadian public libraries (n=4) that uses
BiblioCommons (n=33) and Encore (n=7).
20
21. Selection of fiction titles
The bibliographic records for 22 unique adult fiction titles will be
examined in the 40 social discovery platforms.
The 22 titles were selected from the shortlists of major literary prizes
(with duplicate titles noted), namely:
Giller Prize 2011 shortlist
Canadian Governor General’s 2011 Literary Awards
Man Booker Prize Shortlist 2011
Pulitzer Prize 2011 Fiction Finalists
Commonwealth Writer’s Prize 2011 Winners
21
22. Selection of reader tags
Unique user-generated content in the form tags and
reviews/comments will be extracted from the total number of
bibliographic records examined for the 22 unique titles to
determine what type of content users are contributing.
In the case of tags, spelling variations (e.g., labor/labour), and
single or plural variant of terms (e.g., dog/dogs) will be
considered as non-unique terms).
22
23. Content analysis of reader reviews
Using Grounded Theory method, two researchers will independently
extract factors (or codes) in this user-generated content that provide
information about the content the titles, for example, information about
the location of a story (e.g., Nunavut), or the emotional impact of the title
on the reader (e.g., boring, funny, etc.).
Each researcher will code inductively, grouping codes of similar content
into concepts, and then placing broad groups of similar concepts into
categories. A third researcher will take the two sets of categories and
examine them for overlap, clarity, exclusivity, and relevance.
23
24. Comparison of our categories to
traditional RA categories
The final set of categories will be compared by the two
principal researchers to the fiction access categories for
traditional RA models (see slide 32).
24
25. Assumptions of the traditional RA
model
The reader approaches a librarian with RA questions
The librarian approached is the correct person to provide assistance
Enough information is obtained in an interview to provide good RA
service
Quality RA service is possible, given time constraints
Face-to-face RA encounters are documented sufficiently to support
follow up
25
26. Possible limitations of the traditional
model, 1
The reluctance of some readers to discuss their reading
interests with librarians, possibly due to shyness;
A lack of awareness that some librarians are trained to
provide this type of service
A perception of librarians as authority – and thus
intimidating – figures
26
27. Possible limitations of the traditional
model, 2
Assumptions that a librarian of a different
age, gender, culture, and so forth may not
relate to them
A fear of having their reading interests
dismissed or judged, and so forth.
27
28. Challenges with bibliographic records,
1
Another challenge to the traditional model of RA provision is the
structure of the bibliographic records in library catalogues.
The assignation of access points to works of fiction can be problematic
for a variety of reasons: “claims to neutrality and inclusivity are
central to public libraries’ self-understanding.”
Bates, J., & Rowley, J. (2011). Social reproduction and exclusion in subject indexing: A comparison of
public library OPACs and LibraryThing folksonomy. Journal of Documentation, 67(3), 431–448.
28
29. Challenges with bibliographic
records, 2
This attempt at neutrality is normally manifested in the careful
selection of subject headings that provide what is perceived to
be a balanced and unbiased opinion about the content of the
work.
It is not clear, however, the extent to which neutrality and
inclusivity are possible via systems such as LCSH, which may
contain biases and assumptions that reflect certain sociopolitical or cultural norms
29
30. Is neutrality what readers want?
The provision of neutral, unbiased reviews is flying
increasingly in the face of the growing popularity of sites such
as GoodReads and Amazon, where readers freely add their
own reviews to supplement those written by professional
reviewers.
Can “neutral” bibliographic records meet the potentiallydifferent cultural needs of the members of library
communities?
30
31. Reflecting diversity
Social discovery systems may help provide bibliographic
records that more closely reflect reader needs, since they
offer readers the chance to describe the content of works in
their own words, via tags or reviews/comments, which may
help reflect the diversity and range of Canadian society.
Spiteri, L. F. (2012). Social discovery tools: Extending the principle of user convenience. Journal
of Documentation, 68(2), 206-217.
31
32. Reasons for selecting reading
materials (fiction)
Emotional experience
Explicit content
Factual information
Specific characters
Characters’ occupations
Characters’ relationships
Setting
Time
Plot development
Real events
Pacing
Subjects
Time
Plot development
Real events
Pacing
Subjects
Readability
Intended audience
Genre
32
33. RA tools, 1
Tools such as NoveList and What Should I Read Next provide
valuable resources to advise RA librarians with ways to
connect readers to their reading interests.
RA librarians can make use also of social reading sites such
as LibraryThing, Good Reads, and Shelfari, which allow
readers to document, discuss, and share their reading.
33
34. RA tools, 2
LibraryThing for Libraries allows library catalogues to import
LT tags and user reviews. RA librarians can easily consult
social reading sites for reading ideas, regardless of whether
any data are imported to their catalogues
Librarians can mine GoodReads to create read-alike lists, and
can help show readers how to use GoodReads as a virtual
book-browsing tool.
34
35. Our clients’ expectations
Social reading sites are creating “a Web nation of feral
readers’ advisors is being born, who in turn will
inform their friends and colleagues of good books to
read using the language we’ve provided in our tags,
bookshelves, reviews, and annotations.”
Stover, K. M. (2009). Stalking the wild appeal factor. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 48(3),
243–246.
35
36. Creating shared spaces, 1
RA staff have competition from
services such as LibraryThing,
Shelfari, and GoodReads, and
they need to consider how best
to blend the concepts of reading
appeal with the idea of readers
tagging books with their own
headings.
“we are steeped in a society that
expects to interact, recommend and
share. But are we allowing our
readers to share?” Tarulli, L. (2012). The library
catalogue as social space: Promoting patron driven
collections, online communities, and enhanced reference
and readers' services. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries
Unlimited.
36
37. Creating shared spaces, 2
Since the ultimate goal of RA
services is to create
conversations about reading
and reading
materials, incorporating
reader interaction in library
catalogues is an important
step forward for RA.
This interaction “connects the
collection and readers to each other in
original, flexible, and idiosyncratic
ways. It allows for reader-to-reader
conversations sparked by
interest, whimsy, and personal
knowledge. It makes greater use of
librarian expertise as well, offering
another way to interact and offer
suggestions.” Wyatt, N. (2007). 2.0 for readers.
Library Journal, 132(18), 30–33.
37
38. Relevance of this project, 1
Our study can help provide
library staff with a greater
understanding of how readers
connect to the catalogue, the
records, and to each other via
social discovery systems.
By examining closely the tags and
reviews/comments applied by readers to
fiction titles, the project can increase our
understanding of what readers think are
important for fiction, rather than those that
library staff, including cataloguers, think are
important; for instance, user tags produced
by readers may result in recommended
updates or changes to existing LCSH
headings for fiction.
38
39. Relevance of this project, 2
Can we determine the balance between providing enough access points
to enable a good understanding of content, but not so much that we
give away the plot?
What are the types of access points that readers believe are important
for fiction titles? Do these categories reflect those established in the
more traditional forms of RA service?
– Are the access points that have formed the traditional backbone of
bibliographic records sufficient for the needs of readers and library
professionals who wish to access and evaluate fiction sources?
39