Organizing Information

Organizing books and materials used to be in the domain of professionally trained catalogers and indexers. Now, through Web 2.0, it is in the hands of everyday "folk." What are the implications of this trend for librarians? Also, for additional food for thought, go to your Delicious site and examine your list of tags. In your opinion, are these tags more or less helpful than traditional subject headings?

   The implications of "regular folk" organizing information such as their book collections (LibraryThing), their bookmarks (delicious) as well as articles which they really liked (buzz, etc.) are that people will have a sense of control of their environment. The RDA which may be implemented in cataloging soon I think has a very similar approach to the idea of Web 2.0. Relationships. So, once that is implemented, and patrons understand it, I think it will be very helpful - both in the traditional library, and to individual patrons at home.

     My delicious tags were: blog, discussion, LibraryThing, and SLIS 5720. The biggest difference between delicious tags and traditional subject headings is that of user error. With traditional subject headings you have authoritative sources such as the Library of Congress which dictate the correct spelling and format. In contrast, delicious tags are totally up to the user as to spelling and terminology they think is best. Delicious tags may be better than traditional subject headings in that they may be more current. However, I think that traditional subject headings trump the "currency" of delicious tags by having a more concise and agreed upon terminology.