Review it I will....

Authors Marieke Guy and Emma Tonkin discuss folksonomies with a particular emphasis on issues concerning tidying up tags. The overall purpose of the article “Folksonomies Tidying up Tags?” is to establish the validity of popular objections surrounding folksonomic tagging. This aim, however, is not clearly specified within the article itself, but rather plugged in the methodology section as an afterthought. From the introduction, the reader would assume that what follows is a discussion of whether or not tags should be standardized and organized. Thus, it is evident that Guy and Tonkin are trying to pack their article with a broad spectrum of issues and assumptions related to tags in folksonomies. The result is such that confusion arises as to the explicit goal of the article.
Lack of clarity aside, this article raises three relevant issues for information knowledge professionals. The underlying and overarching issue of this piece is classification, a primary concept for information workers. Folksonomies are a form of “distributed classification systems” created by users for online items (Guy and Tonkin, 2006). Within folksonomies, tags are a means for users to sort items and are defined as “a freely chosen set of textual keywords” (Guy and Tonkin, 2006). Secondly, in highlighting theoretical assumptions and concerns relating to folksonomy systems, Guy and Tonkin are also commenting on the usability of such classifications. This too is an important element for knowledge professionals because usability provides value within classification systems. Finally, metadata, a hot topic within knowledge management circles, figures prominently in Guy and Tonkin’s article.
Despite its length, the article does not provide any concrete answers to the question of whether or not folksonomy systems should standardize tags. Rather, the authors advise caution in trying to regulate tags due to the cultural diversity of users, the subjective nature of tags and the fact that users prefer the open and discretionary aspect of folksonomies. Guy and Tonkin arrive at the above-mentioned issues through anecdotal evidence and an informal and inconclusive study. Without scientific analysis, it is difficult to truly assess tags within folksonomies. Therefore, the reader can conclude that this article is useful because it raises some interesting questions and makes one think, but does not offer any concrete evidence or solutions.
Interested? Check out the article at http://www.dlib.org/dlib/january06/guy/01guy.html

Wikipedia and the library...a match made in heaven!

Wikipedia: A valuable resource for libraries
Program Proposal for the North York Library*


Contents


1) Executive Summary
2) Project Description
3) Goals and objectives
4) Issues
5) Target population
6) Project activities
7) Plan for measuring project results
8) Project Budget
9) Wikipedia Background
10) Conclusion


















* The North York Library is used as an example for the purposes of this proposal

Renee Webster
#1311 Assignment due February 13, 2006

Program Proposal for the North York Library

Executive Summary

The aim of this project is to introduce and integrate the free online encyclopedia Wikipedia into the North York Library system. Integrating Wikipedia into library resources will allow us to improve our automated systems so that we can continue to serve our patrons even as their needs, expectations, and wants change.

Project Description

Goals and objectives

Integrating Wikipedia into the library system at North York Library will transform and add value to our online systems. The project will include providing links between library data and Wikipedia. Data from Wikipedia will be part of our catalogue search results displays. This will give North York library an opportunity to not only serve our patrons better but to also enrich our resources for free. Not only will the library use this open source but its staff will also be required to participate and contribute to Wikipedia. Librarians will be asked to share their knowledge and sources with Wikipedia by posting definitions on a monthly basis.

Issues

The problems to be addressed are creating the links between library data and Wikipedia data. The forms differ between our library catalogue and the open source encyclopedia. Open source software programs are available which will create these linkages but they will have to be researched and tested. Other technical issues arise surrounding the ISBN port, what will it look like and where will it be. The staff will have to be familiarized with Wikipedia so that they in turn can help customers.

Target population

This project is aimed at the patrons of the North York Library. Integrating Wikipedia into the North York Library system will benefit all of our patrons and encourage users to consult our catalogues. The trend in today’s online society is to seek information on one’s own. People are turning to free online searches as their primary means of seeking information. Wikipedia has many of the advantages of the web (vast source of information) and because it is open source it does not require the user to sign in. Providing a rich free source of information in connection with library materials meets the needs of our clientele and encourages use beyond the traditional services offered by the library.




Project activities

This project will require meetings with staff, the chief librarian and board members. There will be a short training session to orient staff with Wikipedia. The project will have to be advertised to patrons and the community at large. Advocating activities include making flyers, informing all patrons and advertising the project on our website. Staff will test the integrated system to ensure quality and usability.

Plan for measuring project results

A group of patrons, varying in demographics, will be asked to survey the current system before the integration. The same group will be invited to return to survey the new system with Wikipedia. The North York Library homepage will also feature an opinion poll for the first three months following integration. Over a six month period, the library will monitor the number of patrons in order to measure the value of this service (more customers means better service).

Project Budget

Incorporating Wikipedia into our system can be done within a month with little cost to the library. Wikipedia is open source software given life by its contributors and volunteers and is free to use. The articles hosted on this site are released by their authors under the GNU Free Documentation License (or a free license), so the articles are free content and may be reproduced freely under the same license. Both project management and technological applications can be completed by current North York library staff. The library already has a webmaster on contract. His services will not be needed for very long because Wikipedia already has an automated system for linking ISBNs to libraries and booksellers, rendering one-off links unnecessary. His contract will be covered by the IT budget put aside for such projects. Existing staff will be given two one hour orientation sessions by the project leader.

Budget Chart
Item
Cost
Notes

Wikipedia
software
$0.00
open source

Flyers
Ink
$0.00
photocopier

Flyers
Paper
$0.00
photocopier



Wikipedia Background

“Started in January 2001, Wikipedia is currently both the world's largest encyclopedia and fastest-growing, with articles under active development in over 100 languages. Nearly 2,500 new articles are added to Wikipedia each day, along with ten times that number of updates to existing articles. Wikipedia now ranks as one of the ten most popular reference sites on the Internet, according to Alexa.com. It is increasingly used as a resource by students, journalists, and anyone who needs a starting point for research.” (http://recentlibrarynews.blogspot.com/2004/09/wikipedia-hits-million-entry-mark.html).
Wikipedia is managed by a nonprofit organization, The Wikimedia Foundation, which also manages other Wikipedia projects. Originally, the site was hosted on the servers of Bomis, Inc, a company mostly owned by Jimmy Wales, who currently funds part of the site's operational costs. The ownership of all domain names as well as the technical equipment was transferred to the Wikimedia Foundation in 2003. The site is run by a community of volunteers; anyone can contribute and edit any article. Due to the fact that there are so many other people reading the articles and monitoring contributions using the Recent Changes page, incorrect information is most often corrected quickly. As more people contribute, the overall accuracy of the encyclopedia improves. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Overview_FAQ).


Conclusion

In sum, integrating Wikipedia into the North York Library system will be of great value. The costs are minimal and the benefits numerous. Going forward, the long term scope of this project will expand to include other city of Toronto libraries, forging a strong link between libraries and Wikipedia. Both libraries and Wikipedia encourage learning at no cost to the patron/user and encourage interaction thus this project aims to formalize what is already a natural relationship between the two.


























Resources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Overview_FAQ

http://recentlibrarynews.blogspot.com/2004/09/wikipedia-hits-million-entry-mark.html

http://www.altheim.com/ef/2005/06/wikipedia-and-libraries.html

http://maisonbisson.com/blog/post/10609/

The first step is the hardest...but it helps to have green laces. 

Sing it Willie! "on the road again..."