[OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Feature inquiry

[Deanna Frazee]

Stuart,

That's the problem with not reading all of the email first; I discovered
after that someone else had already said it.  Ah well, if they wouldn't
make me go to meetings, I wouldn't have so many emails the next morning!

The My Discoveries window sounds like just the sort of thing I would
want to see, although it would be nice to have it open automatically.
The other issues is the desire for consistency.  I think many people,
not just us librarians, want it.  But I fear the mess that will be
created by all those people out there who have yet to see the usefulness
of consistency.  And ultimately, it is my fear that my catalog will be
as cluttered as my office that keeps me from embracing tagging.  

Oddly, I love the idea of Chili Fresh and the ability of patrons to
contribute reviews (but only if they actually checked out the book).  My
hope is that we can go after that shortly after we get Evergreen going
in a month or two.  

Deanna Frazee
Killeen City Library System
(254) 501-8995
(254) 501-7704 (fax)
dfrazee at ci.killeen.tx.us
 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: open-ils-general-bounces at list.georgialibraries.org
[mailto:open-ils-
> general-bounces at list.georgialibraries.org] On Behalf Of Stuart Miller
> Sent: Tuesday, October 07, 2008 10:06 AM
> To: Evergreen Discussion Group
> Subject: RE: [OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Feature inquiry
> 
> Deanna,
> 
> Don't we all!
> 
> But I think you've hit on what another poster was saying: the way in
which
> tagging works is the key. Not just to have tagging. For example, the
> tagging feature in AquaBrowser to me is irritating because when I'm
> actually looking at a record and want to tag it, I can't see my
existing
> tags--I have to open the My Discoveries window to see them. And of
course
> I do that because I WANT to be consistent--it's the librarian in me.
> 
> We seemed to have touched off quite a lot of discussion. Who knew?
> 
> Stuart
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: open-ils-general-bounces at list.georgialibraries.org
[mailto:open-ils-
> general-bounces at list.georgialibraries.org] On Behalf Of Deanna Frazee
> Sent: Tuesday, October 07, 2008 9:15 AM
> To: Evergreen Discussion Group
> Subject: RE: [OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Feature inquiry
> 
> But it is relevant to Evergreen development, at least in the sense
that
> tagging is something that may or may not belong in any good ILS.  And
I
> agree, most library catalogs suffer from poor authority control.  I
try
> to devote a few hours per week to clean up the most egregious problems
> in ours, but that only scratches the surface.
> 
> My problem with tagging is that it needs some sort of moderation or at
> least a good spell checker that can suggest a list of exist options
from
> which the user can select.  Sort of a two step process where the user
> types the tag they think they would like to use, and a list of similar
> existing terms pops up.  They can select from the list or select their
> own.  It still allows for the person to add to the clutter by going on
> with yet another version of the word, but with any luck, maybe they
will
> choose an existing one instead.
> 
> Of course, I also want a bigger building, more money for databases and
a
> more open hours.  I tend to want things that I don't get.
> 
> Deanna Frazee
> Killeen City Library System
> (254) 501-8995
> (254) 501-7704 (fax)
> dfrazee at ci.killeen.tx.us
> 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: open-ils-general-bounces at list.georgialibraries.org
> [mailto:open-ils-
> > general-bounces at list.georgialibraries.org] On Behalf Of Stuart
Miller
> > Sent: Monday, October 06, 2008 4:33 PM
> > To: Evergreen Discussion Group
> > Subject: RE: [OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Feature inquiry
> >
> > Deanna,
> >
> > I certainly don't object to making tagging optional, but I think it
> really
> > is something that every library should offer.
> >
> > I agree that tagging can be quite messy and inevitably leads to
> situations
> > such as you describe. But after all, you DID find the product with
> just
> > the one term, so does it matter that others added many variants?
> >
> > I agree that using controlled vocabulary schemes can sometimes be
more
> > efficient, but I think we see tagging as a boon for any group with a
> > shared interest, especially when LCSH doesn't really cut it.
> >
> > And students appear to ENJOY this capability--and probably assign
tags
> > that are more easily recognizable among their peers than some of the
> > rather bizarre and sometimes woefully outdated LC headings. And,
> judging
> > from the subject cataloging I've seen in our large database, I'm not
> sure
> > that librarians can lay any special claim to consistency or
scientific
> > rigor when assigning subject headings. I think any
group--academically
> > inclined or otherwise--has its own informal lingo that is well
served
> by
> > tagging.
> >
> > Sorry, not really directly relevant to Evergreen development!
> >
> > Stuart Miller
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: open-ils-general-bounces at list.georgialibraries.org
> [mailto:open-ils-
> > general-bounces at list.georgialibraries.org] On Behalf Of Deanna
Frazee
> > Sent: Monday, October 06, 2008 3:57 PM
> > To: Evergreen Discussion Group
> > Subject: RE: [OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Feature inquiry
> >
> > > And while you're asking, what about tagging? I think it's fair to
> say
> > that
> > > Web 2.0 features are expected these days--and not just by the
> younger
> > > users. We need to keep library user interfaces more up-to-date
more
> > > quickly than has been the case in the past. E.g., most database
> > vendors
> > > had citation export features LONG before we got it into the old
> OPACs.
> >
> > I partially agree with Stuart, yet I think tagging is highly
> over-rated
> > since it allows for so much randomness as to be useless in many
cases.
> > In particular, I think we give up too much when we bow to having
> > uncontrolled headings.  For example, in a recent search to replace
my
> > vacuum cleaner, I discovered a product on Amazon.com with the
> following
> > tags:  vacuum, vacuums, vacuum cleaner, vacuum cleaners, great and a
> > variety of misspellings of "vacuum".
> >
> > Starting with the obvious "great" is not a useful tag unless you are
> > putting it on your own book list to remind you which books were most
> > enjoyable.  Beyond that, we have a situation that begs for a nice
> spell
> > checker and suggestions for what the person really meant.
> >
> > Yes, the ability to tag should be there.  But make it a feature that
> can
> > be turned off by those of us who do not want it.
> >
> > Deanna Frazee
> > Killeen City Library System