Not the Paper Kind: How Social Bookmarking and Social Cataloguing Impacts Libraries

What do you think of when you hear the the term "bookmarking"? Does a metal one come to mind? Or does your brain gravitate towards a paper bookmark showing off quotes from Shakespeare? Maybe you just think of old-fashioned dog-earing. By the way, I wouldn't recommend dog-earing books from the library. We don't want to be caught committing "book assault", now do we? I can only imagine the disgusted faces of hardcore bibliophiles at the mere mention of dog-earing. Let us take a moment of silence for this victim:

Like traditional bookmarks, social bookmarking allows people to organize and manage their bookmarked web documents. Social bookmarking sites' key feature is the ability to allow users to share their bookmarks at will (this is different from file sharing, which only shares the resources themselves). 

Social bookmarking sites (and its cousin, social cataloguing) have exploded on the Internet, coming together like a graceful dance. 

If I'm going to be using a social bookmarking site, I tend to go with Reddit. To be honest, I don't really use it that often, but I can see how it could be used as a potential news source for popular content, especially if one utilizes subreddits. 

While I'll admit that I don't frequent social bookmarking juggernauts like Reddit, Digg, and Delicious all that much, libraries can use these sites to strengthen patrons' information access by providing helpful links. In some cases, they can almost act like subject guides.

An example that comes to mind is the Whitby Public Library. They have a Delicious account, allowing patrons to easily find the information they desire with just a button click. You can take a peek on how they did it here: https://delicious.com/whitbypubliclibrary

Moving on, I should mention that social cataloguing sites take social bookmarking one step beyond: these sites can categorize and organize books, movies, and music so users can manage their items more effectively. 

Sites such as Goodreads, Librarything, and Shelfari can be classified as social cataloguing tools. I like to employ Goodreads the most, as I'm able to rate and comment about the books I just read, plus find recommendations whenever I want. 

In a library setting, social cataloguing sites are very useful for setting up discussions on books or scheduling events or meet-ups. For instance, if your library has a mystery club, and some members are not always able to attend meetings, why not create a discussion group online? This way, everyone can participate at their own convenience. 

There are other benefits to social cataloguing sites, of course. They can give patrons the ability to easily browse through recommended titles they might not have considered. Patrons can also quickly organize materials they have already read, seen, or heard with site features. These sites allow patrons more interactivity with informative materials, which can foster more interest in library collections. 

However, there is a potential downside: user-generated content can confuse some patrons trying to find titles, particularly when social cataloguing site features are implemented into online library catalogues.

What I mean by this is the fact that some patrons still find use out of traditional library catalogues. These same patrons may become overwhelmed if a library creates an online catalogue with social cataloguing features. They often just want the ability to search for titles without frills, and may become alienated as a result. 

Personally, I recommend that libraries create two versions of their catalogues. One version could implement features similar to Goodreads and Librarything to attract social-media savvy patrons. Another version could offer only traditional searching methods to satisfy those who prefer more straightforward catalogues. 

This way, both groups of patrons are satisfied and offer variant ways for patrons to access information.

With all that said, I'll be busy bookmarking and tagging books on my Goodreads account during my downtime. And I'll try my best to not dog-ear my precious library novels in the future. Maybe.