Folksonomies: PATH TO A BETTER WAY?
Public Libraries; Chicago, 47 (2):
42-47 (March 2008)Abstract
An elderly library patron attempting to help his young granddaughter do a report on Native Americans is befuddled when he cannot find any listing for American Indians in his library Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC). Since connecting users with information is at the very heart of the library profession, librarians are left asking, Are folksonomies, indeed, a path to a better way? According to Dye, the term folksonomy was coined in 2005 when information architect Thomas Vander Wal mashed up the words taxonomy and folk to name the growing phenomenon of users generating metadata by tagging pieces of digital information with their own searchable keywords. Ed Rossman, adult services librarian at Shaker Heights (Ohio) Public Library (www.shakerlibrary.org), is working on showing Score business counselors how to use LibraryThing.26 First, the patrons are shown the library's OPAC of small business resources.