Tagging and Reviews

[Becky Schneider]

Kim,

For my master's project at SCSU, I studied patron reviews in libraries 
(it's available here, if you want to take a look at the 
results/bibliography: http://www.beckyschneider.net/special.pdf)

My study was quantitative rather than qualitative, but I found that, in 
many of the public libraries I studied, patrons just don't seem to write 
reviews (although there were some stunning exceptions)!

The quality of reviews ranged vastly, but I found them generally 
helpful. The real problem was the vast number number of books that just 
don't have reviews, even in systems that pooled reviews from different 
libraries to make them feel less like ghost towns.

I do think there is a place for patron content in the library catalog, 
but it needs to be implemented intelligently. Bibliocommons is a 
promising example.

Becky Schneider
MLS for Hire

On 11/28/2011 06:52 PM, Kim Lehn wrote:
> Is there anyone who is involved with a library (as a patron or employee) whose
> catalog allows for patron reviews or tagging?
> If so, how successful do think the patron input is? Or if not, what are your
> thoughts about this type of allowance for patrons?
>
> Thank you!
> Kim Lehn
> MLS Student
> Southern Connecticut State University
>
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2011-11-28