http://atomiq.org/archives/2005/10/tagging_tags_to_make_synonyms.html

For the second point I’ve also wanted such a service. Amazon allows pulling of information though the inability to cache it is a killer. It would be really nice to see Amazon partner with libraries to provide data. I had high hopes for the OCLC offering but question if it will be any more open then any other review service. Right now things are becoming even more fragmented as more and more services roll out. I currently use listal for my collection as it’s very easy to get my data out (rss for everything and xml upcoming). It also has some amazon integration with it.

As for convincing I think the main hurdle will be a few libraries making great examples. Once there are some examples to point to I think it will become easier (as in any field). There will always be some that don’t flow and then there is the slew of privacy and other issues.

1) Ways to use the cataloged metadata you’ve already got to make the tags more powerful, and vice versa (quick example: do a subject browse on “mysteries”. All you’re going to find is a bunch of stuff on medieval miracle plays — probably not what you were looking for. Well, why couldn’t there be a user-contributed subject tag pointing you to the “detective and mystery stories” heading instead? With a user-contributed tag, you can still get the huge benefit of decades of cataloging with controlled vocabularies — all of your mysteries are associated with the “detective and mystery stories” heading — and the benefit of free tagging, which is that it’s very adaptable to how humans actually use language and the fact that connections between concepts evolve faster than our controlled vocabularies do. The two compliment each other. I don’t have to go and tag thousands of mysteries with the “mysteries” tag; I just have to tag one subject heading that all the mysteries are connected to.

This could evolve into huge chains or clouds of different types of controlled and uncontrolled metadata connected together.

2) Ways to make free tags and other user-contributed metadata collaborative and shareable across library systems. When I tag something or write a review or make a “you might also like…” recommendation in my catalog, that same info should show up automagically in hundreds of other peoples’ systems. Amazon.com is a great repository of user-supplied metadata — reviews, rankings, etc. There needs to be an open source, Creative Commons licensed equivalent. Tagging is great, but its power multiplies the more people you’ve got contributing to the system. We need a worldwide system for collaborative metadata.

3) Convincing people in charge that this all is a good idea. This is the main stumbling block, in my opinion. The technical part of it isn’t trivial, but it’s very doable. The human part, I’m not so optimistic about. It will flat out never happen at some libraries (including several of the largest public libraries in the US) because of union contracts that forbid allowing non-library employees to do work for free that a librarian would be paid to do, such as tagging or reviewing materials.

All I can say is wow. Having the ability to comment on shows at Odeo was nice, but I never thought about the ability to collaboratively annotate audio, including snippets. If you haven’t already go over and read the full post about it, including…