User-generated tagging and the public library online public access catalog

<p>The purpose of this study was to survey southern New Jersey public librarians' attitudes towards the feasibility of including user-generated tagging in the public library online public access catalog (OPAC). The research questions of the thesis concerned the advantages and disadvantages of user-generated tagging, the co-existence of user-generated tagging and controlled subject headings, the future of user-generated tagging, and what the librarians thought about user-generated tagging in the OPAC.</p> <p>The methodology of the study was applied research. Nineteen southern New Jersey public librarians completed an attitudinal survey on user-generated tagging. Responses were tallied and placed into a spreadsheet and graphic representations for analysis.</p> <p>A finding of the study was that "good-enough," in reference to user-generated tagging, was not acceptable to the majority of the southern New Jersey public librarians. None of the librarians had user-generated tagging in their OPACs, and a significant finding of the thesis was that a majority of the librarians chose advantage in response to the survey statement user-generated tagging and controlled subject headings can co-exist.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

M.A. in School and Public Librarianship

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Special Educational Services/Instruction

Year dc:date.available

2008

Author dc:creator

• McDonald, Andrea C.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Shontz, Marilyn

• Online library catalogs--New Jersey; Public librarians--New Jersey--Attitudes
• Library and Information Science

Repository record dc:identifier

https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/737

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:rdw.rowan.edu:etd-1731