2. What is LibraryThing?
• An online site for social sharing
• Online since 2005
• Specifically design to catalogue books
• The creator built the site to catalogue his
own books
• Finds links to the item on other website
• Price comparison
• Where to buy online
• Local bookstore where to find the item
3.
Description
Type of content
Books, DVDs, CDs and
more
Multiple languages
English and French
mostly
User-generated with
approved submission
Results come from other
sources
Target audience
People who want to keep a
list of the books, DVDs
and/or CDs
People who would like to
have recommendation based
on what they like
Via the website or other users
Libraries so they can shared
their own collection
4.
Description
Tagging
Non-consistent and no
control vocabulary
Left to the users
Limited per item
Tags or more personal then
useful
Users tags for themselves
rather then everybody
Not very useful for the other
users
Design and user interface
Design is outdated with
to much scrolling
Not mobile compatible
Connects/links to
Facebook and Twitter
Can use a scanner to scan
barcodes and find books
Recommendations given
are accurate
8.
Purpose
To examine the “messiness” of social tagging
in LibraryThing in relation to their use for
search and retrieval in a library catalogue
using a quantitative analysis.
Highlights of the article:
“Trashy tags: problematic tags in LibraryThing”
9.
Chose LibraryThing because it closely resembles a library catalogue.
Quantitative analysis
Used ten books, the data was collected in September and October 2008
Excluded personal tags, i.e. “to read,” “box 1”
40% of tags were excluded
Studied a total of 7,653 tags
Methodology
• The Da Vinci Code
• The God Delusion
• The Screwtape Letters
• The Seven Habits of Highly
Effective People
• Million Little Pieces
• Lonesome Dove
• Heather Has Two Mommies
• Sin City
• I’m a Soldier, Too
• Martha Stewart’s Wedding
Cakes
12.
Folksonomies can enhance controlled vocabularies like
LCSH
They are messy and inconsistent
Variations among tags is the biggest problem
Could be fixed by offering suggestions and
recommendations, giving guidelines and allowing the
editing and combining of tags
But don’t want to discourage users from creating tags
“The charm of tagging is its open and unstructured form,
and this is a strength of the resultant folksonomy”
Conclusions
13.
Background information
LibraryThing for Libraries (LTFL) is a series
of enhancements that can be embedded into a
library’s online catalogue.
Adds a tag cloud of LibraryThing tags
directly to catalogue records.
Highlights of the article:
“Tags in the catalogue: Insights from a usability study
of LibraryThing For Libraries” (Pirmann, 2012)
15.
Research question
What is the utility of tags as a means of enhancing subject access and
discovery of items in library catalogues?
Methodology
Major research university library
13 participants
Usability test
• Open-ended searches
• Known-item searches
• Unknown-item searches
Screen capture software & webcam
“Think aloud” technique
Semistructured interviews
Methodology
18.
Tags can be useful for finding materials in
library catalogues
However, there are several problems with
the LTFL tag browser:
• Displays maximum of 30 tags
• Relevancy ranking of results
• Not seamlessly integrated in the catalogue
Conclusions
19.
Value of Site for Subject Retrieval
Pros
Variety of Content
and
Social Creations
20. Variety of content
Books, movies, music, board games
Many languages (including translations)
Author and publisher information
Data on collections
Similar content and recommendations
ISBN and BINC number searches
Growing collection
Quick Links; Get this Book: price comparisons
from Bookfinder.com
21.
22. Social Creation
User-generated, admin approved submissions
Boardgamegeek: http://boardgamegeek.com/user/jesslynch
Making and sharing lists
Connecting to users with similar interests
Forums and groups
Suggestions for site improvements
Links to Facebook and Twitter
External searches: Library of Congress Catalogue, Overcat,
Amazon.com
23.
24.
Value of Site for Subject Retrieval
Cons
No Search Limiters
and
Lack of Helpful Search Advice
31.
LibraryThing is a great idea that needs work
Seems outdated
Hard to navigate
Tagging strategies are lacking
It is more adapted for some context and users
Smaller libraries
Devoted users
To Summarize
32. 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. doi: 10.1108/00220411111124532
DeZelar-Tiedman, C. (2011). Exploring User-Contributed Metadata's Potential to Enhance Access to Literary Works: Social Tagging in
Academic Library Catalogs. Library Resources & Technical Services, 55(4), 221-233. Retrieved February 3, 2014, from
https://login.proxy.bib.uottawa.ca/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx? direct=true&db=llf&AN=525501497&site=ehost-
live
Lu, C., Park, J., & Hu, X. (2010). User tags versus expert-assigned subject terms: A comparison of LibraryThing tags and library of congress
subject headings. Journal of Information Science, 36(6), 763-779. doi: 10.1177/0165551510386173
O'Neill, J. (2007). LibraryThing: Cataloging for the (social) masses. Information Today, 24(8), 23. Retrieved February 3, 2014, from
https://login.proxy.bib.uottawa.ca/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/57648651?accountid=14701
Pirmann, C. (2012). Tags in the catalogue: Insights from a usability study of LibraryThing for libraries. Library Trends, 61(1), 234-247. doi:
10.1353/lib.2012.0021
Richards, A., & Sen, B. (2013). An investigation into the viability of LibraryThing for promotional and user engagement purposes in libraries.
Library Hi Tech, 31(3), 493-519. doi: 10.1108/LHT-03-2013-0034
Starr, J. (2007). LibraryThing.com: The Holy Grail of Book Recommendation Engines. Searcher, 15(7), 25-32. Retrieved February 3, 2014, from
https://login.proxy.bib.uottawa.ca/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=llf&AN=502919069&site=ehost-
live
Thomas, M., Caudle, D. M., & Schmitz, C. (2010). Trashy tags: Problematic tags in LibraryThing. New Library World, 111(5-6), 223-235. doi:
10.1108/03074801011044098
Voorbij, H. (2012). The value of LibraryThing tags for academic libraries. Online Information Review, 36(2), 196-217. doi:
10.1108/14684521211229039
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