User-Generated Content in Libraries

--Where do you see user-generated content providing value for libraries and how could it be collected?--

What I see as being the most valuable user-generated content for libraries is the addition to library catalogs that enable patrons to add reviews of materials in the collection, somewhat like Amazon. This would provide both the ability of users to rate through 1-5 stars as well as write a review that would be approved prior to adding it to the catalog in order to ensure that it is "proper." Through adding user-generated reviews, patrons will feel like they have an impact on their libraries and that their opinions matter. This would also create a sense of community, in that the catalog could become almost like a social networking tool if reviews can be categorized through the reviewer's name. Thus individuals could "view" a reviewer's profile and the items that they have reviewed and which they liked and disliked. While I am unsure how it would exactly play out on a library's online public access catalog, the ability for library patrons to provide input and generate content that reaches out to fellow patrons not only improves the library's holdings, it also ensures that the library is the hub of the online community as well as the physical community.

Patrons could also provide tags for items that would work alongside the subject headings of catalog entries. While this could become confusing, it would allow for user-generated language to provide tags that catalogers may not have thought about. This is especially true for items that fall within multiple categories or have a specific jargon description. While I do not believe that tags will supplant subject headings, I do think that they could increase the richness of each item's record in the system.

References

Tay, A. (2009). "Libraries and Crowdsourcing - 6 Examples." Musings about Librarianship.