The tagging meme

After Tim Spaldings interest view on how Ann Coulters book book was being tagged by Amazon, It was with interest I read Karen Schneider's article entitled Tagging in workflow context. In her article she feels that only the 'most determined cranks and pranksters might actually use' tagging in libraries. Indeed, to get a participation from one's patrions may be difficult.

She points out:-

'If I’m not going to tag when I find a book (why would I, if I haven’t read it, Amazon notwithstanding), and I’m not going to tag when I check out a book (an unrelated physical activity), and I’m not going to tag after I read a book (because that would mean the sole reason I’m returning to the catalog is to tag an item, which feels low-gain), and I’m not going to tag when I return a book (can you see me at the circ desk, reciting tags I want added to an item — or perhaps shouting tags into a book drop? Or I guess I could write them on a p-slip)…

Seems to me that tagging workflow in a catalog should be “gamed” so that the next time I visit the catalog to find something, the catalog entices me to tag.'

I was wondering what would 'entice' users to tag?

Who needs a librarian?

Nice youtube video about the needs for librarian (found via Siva Vaidhyanathan)

Free range librarian article

I noted Karen Schneider from has released an interest article on Wikipedia entitled Wikipedia's Awkward Adolescence. If your interested in wikipedia, its well worth a read.