Web 2.0: Social
Bookmarking
Valarie Anthony
MLIS 7505 Applied
Tech Library Practice
Background
Web 2.0 is a term first coined by Tim O’Reilly in a conference
brainstorming session between O’Reilly and MediaLive International. According
to O’Reilly, Web 2.0 is “the business revolution in the computer industry
caused by the move to the internet as platform, and an attempt to understand
the rules for success on that new platform” (Harinarayana & Raju, 2010). A simpler definition of Web 2.0 is “a space
that allows anyone to create and share information online – a space for
collaboration, conversation, and interaction; a space that is highly dynamic,
flexible, and adaptable” (Harinarayana & Raju, 2010). Web 2.0 includes web
based services such as social networking sites, wikis, blogs, social
bookmarking, photo, and video sharing sites. The creation of Web 2.0 has caused
libraries to change.
Social bookmarking tools allow users to store, manage, search,
organize, and share their bookmarks online and access them from anywhere
(Barnes, 2011, p. 180). It is an easy and sometimes free way for libraries to
bring peer-reviewed web-based resources to their users. It allows libraries to
work with items that are widely available on the Internet and helps collect
sources of information for users including websites and in some cases a
library’s cataloged records and database resources.
Green (2010) states that forms of social bookmarking have been around
since 1996. Delicious.com was the first web-based tool to use the term “social
bookmarking”, defined as a “service that allows users to tag, save, manage and share
web pages from a centralized source (p. 4).” Social bookmarking allows users to
store their bookmarks or favorites online where they can be accessed from any
computer. It also allows people to create and assign tags, or descriptive terms
to each item they bookmark to help organize and remember the item. These tags
are used instead of the hierarchical folders found in browser windows. Social
bookmarking sites also allow users to share their bookmarks and see what other people
are bookmarking (Green, 2010).
Social Bookmarking Sites
Vandenbroek (2013) discusses seven social bookmarking sites in her
article: Later This, Delicious, SQWORL!, Jog the Web, LiveBinders, Diigo, and
QR Codes. Later This bookmark sites that you stumble upon while working for
later research. It is used primarily for personal use or for student
book/website recommendations. Delicious allows you to bookmark and group
websites for easy retrieval later. It lets the user see what others are
bookmarking and create PLNs (personal learning networks). SQWORL! is a visual
way to bookmark similar websites that shows a snip of the website instead of
just text. It allows the user to see others who bookmarked sites like yours. Jog
the Web is a site used to create collections of bookmarks on specific topics
and add text. Collection includes jogs in foreign languages. LiveBinders lets
users create a collection of resources that resembles an actual binder. Tabs
are the main categories and subtabs are the links or details of that topic. The
user can easily add text, media, links, and images. Diigo is a social
bookmarking tool that allows grouping by tag as well as highlighting in
multiple colors and taking notes on a notepad. The education version allows
students the same access. Annotations are visible from any computer as long as the
user is logged into that website. QR Codes are 2-D barcodes that link to a
website, text, contact information, etc. In order to use, a person needs a QR
code reader. There are many different types of QR code creators and readers to
choose from and they range in difficulty (Vandenbroek, 2013).
Advantages and Disadvantages
According to Vandenbroek (2013), the most powerful part of
social bookmarking is the social aspect (p. 54). On social bookmarking sites,
creating collaborative learning networks is easy. They can be either personal
or professional. You have the ability of networking with people who share the
same interests or careers as you. Some of the social bookmarking tools allow
for adding additional content, like text, videos, images, or annotations. These
easily customizable tools make sharing with others a snap (Vandenbroek, 2013,
p. 54). Another advantage of social bookmarking sites is that they are easily
accessible. Social bookmarking sites are not restricted to one computer, you
can access them anywhere there is access to the internet.
There are some disadvantages to social bookmarking.
According to EDUCAUSE (2005), by definition, social bookmarking is done by
amateurs. There is no oversight as to how resources are organized and tagged.
This can lead to inconsistent or otherwise poor use of tags. For example, if a
user saves a bookmark for a site with information about greyhounds but only
tags the site with the term “greyhound” and not also with “dogs” or perhaps
“dog racing,” that resource might never be found by someone looking for
information about breeds of dogs. Social bookmarking reflects the values of the
community of users, there is a risk of presenting a twisted view of the value
of any particular topic. For example, users might assign disapproving tags to
certain resources. In addition, social bookmarking means storing data in yet
another location that you have to maintain and update (EDUCAUSE, 2005).
Use in Libraries
Green (2010) states that Libraries use Delicious.com more than any other
social bookmarking site. In a February 2008 survey conducted by the Association
of Research Libraries, 34 libraries out of 64 respondents (53%) said they used
a bookmarking or tagging site. Of these research libraries, the majority (22 or
61%) said they used Delicious (Green, 2010, p. 5).
Some libraries use social
bookmarking sites such as Delicious, to create resource guides, book lists, and
answer guides to specific reference questions. Many academic librarians use
social bookmarking sites in their academic classes to create annotated
bibliographies and subject guides on certain topics. LIBR 1101 Foundations of
Information Literacy taught at Georgia Southwestern State University taught by
the Reference Librarian uses Delicious to compile a list of important resources
for her students. In the article, “Tagging and Social Bookmarking”, the writers
discuss how the Missouri River Regional Library uses Delicious to create a
Reference links page. The tool allows the librarians to add or edit from any
Web computer. The display page is dynamically updated with each change. Another
library that uses Delicious is the Nashville Public Library. NPL's "Teen
Web" includes a Delicious feed to display other recommended teen web sites
(“Tagging and Social Bookmarking”, p.59-60). I have personally used Jog the Web
to create a guide on resources concerning Jimmy Carter to assist students with
their research needs.
Conclusion
Social
bookmarking opens the door to new ways of organizing information and
categorizing resources. These sites are incredibly useful tools for
collaboration and information sharing. Academic and public libraries use social
bookmarking sites in an abundance of ways to help their patrons. Many libraries
are using social networking sites to share useful websites with their patrons. Many
libraries are also incorporating social tagging into their library catalogs. I believe in the future more libraries will
utilize this Web 2.0 tool.
References
Barnes, L. (2011). Social bookmarking
sites: A Review. Collaborative Librarianship, 3(3),
180-182.
EDUCAUSE. (2005). 7 Things you should know
about social bookmarking. EDUCAUSE
Learning Initiative, 1-2.
Green, C. (2010). Tag! You're it!
Experiencing Delicious.com at your library--Introduction to
social
bookmarking. Kentucky Libraries, 74(1), 4-8.
Harinarayana, N. & Raju, N. (2010).
Web 2.0 features in university library web sites. The
Electronic Library, 28(1),
68-88.
Tagging & Social Bookmarking.
(2007). Library Technology Reports, 43(5), 58-61.
Vandenbroek, A. (2013). Social bookmarking
highlights. Library Media Connection, 31(6), 54.
