BA (LCIM)

population of users on a particular social bookmarking site influences not only the amount but also the type and quality of bookmarks in the system.

In all these examples, the community of users is an important factor in ensuring the quality of the resources bookmarked in the system.

Social bookmarking tools allow users to classify their bookmarks by assigning tags

With regard to information literacy instruction, Luo (2010) found evidence that librarians are using tags to present course-specific resources to students.

hey can also be used to engage students in resource discovery

This use of social bookmarking initiated from a need to simply collect and share resources but has yielded other benefits. Traditionally in projects of this type, librarians collate lists of resources that are then passed on to the web developer to turn into a web page. This is fairly labour intensive for the web developer and means that any time subject librarians want to add or edit links they have to submit the changes to the web developer. Scholar includes a tool that allows RSS feeds to be created from searches of Scholar tags. In this case, the web developer just created links to the Scholar feeds – rather than manually creating lists of links and descriptions in HTML. As well as saving the initial job of manually creating HTML pages, it allows the page to be dynamic. If a subject librarian wants to add a web resource to the page, all they have to do is to bookmark that page with the appropriate tags in Scholar. The new webpage is automatically added to the feed without the need for the intervention of the web developer.

librarians can share each other's discoveries.

earning to use these social bookmarking sites requires some technical know-how and an acquired familiarity with sites' features. In addition, librarians must find time to hone and implement these tools.

Within an academic context, social tagging and the folksonomies that can be created by librarians through tagging must provide a measure of semblance of structure and consistency to support curricula

Academic librarians are able to qualitatively identify and tag pages according to subject or related topic, even if the subject term(s) are nowhere to be found on the page.

A number of academic institutions have bravely ventured into this new social realm of information classification and have developed progressive ways to utilize social tagging sites to reach out to their users and provide these communities with personalized and institution-specific library services. Librarians are using these sites' features to organize and disseminate information to their users as well as to continually discover useful web sites and to network with colleagues.

Social bookmarking can also be used to facilitate interaction and professional development among academic librarians and faculty.

workshops and instructional sessions. During such instruction, librarians have an opportunity to educate students on the use of social bookmarking and direct them to tagged pages by subject.

Diigo8 touts itself as “a powerful research tool and a knowledge-sharing community,” and allows users to bookmark pages but provides a particular feature of note, the capability to “add sticky notes” to tagged pages. The web site facilitates collaboration on projects by allowing users to create groups and communities. Diigo's home page specifically states the site can be used to “discover quality resources on any subject or get personalized recommendations.” Other useful features include tag clouds and links to subject-specific news web sites, user-defined subject lists, and communities of users.

“basic assumptions” about finding information today have changed. While librarians are accustomed to consulting traditional library resources such as the catalog, a database or even a book, younger generations including Generation Xers and Mellennials assume any information they need is available somewhere on the web.

academic librarians can use social tagging to point users to useful pages while demonstrating the value of information literacy.

Social tagging allows academic librarians to develop appropriate folksonomies

Academic librarians can use social tagging conceptually to emphasize information literacy and to become more approachable and accessible to users by incorporating other Web 2.0 concepts

Social tagging allows users to sign up for an account on any one or several sites and begin collecting and bookmarking online resources by URL and identifying those links with personal “tags” or according to collective tags used by other users who have found the same resources,

find e-resources other libraries have discovered as well as librarians' blogs. Tapping into resources already discovered by fellow academic librarians saves time by avoiding duplication.

Librarians can also use sites that allow them to make reference notes and give additional tips and guidance for students using particular links for their course-related research.

Several new social software tools developed with the advent of Web 2.0 have the potential to enhance library services often at little to no expense.

One particular group of students that can benefit from the use of social tagging includes those taking online courses. These students, who often lack any kind of classroom interaction, can benefit from the social aspect of using online tagging sites

undergraduate students need to learn how to effectively take advantage of web resources and librarians are in the ideal position to lead the way.

Social bookmarking, also called social tagging, might have the most potential as a Web 2.0 tool that can be utilized in academic libraries to benefit their users and enhance their services.

“collaborative and interactive rather than static”

differences between credible sites and non-authoritative resources

Academic libraries might not seem so archaic or overwhelming to younger generations of students if online resources become more interactive and collaborative over time.

Academic librarians can create accounts within social bookmarking sites and harvest web resources according to various subjects and related concepts.

A number of academic libraries, however, are beginning to embrace these new collaborative tools that younger generations of Web users are already implementing on their own.

Without having books embedded in our physical environment, it would be so much harder to help readers connect with new books and authors.

If no one cared about books and reading anymore, then that's the time to worry.

Libraries are both cultural institutions and businesses, in the best sense of both words. They buy a lot of books. They buy a lot of really wonderful books. And they help bang the drum for those books in their communities. That has tremendous value for us and for the readers we both share and value.

Finally, what do you wish librarians understood better about publishing? We're passionate believers in the future of libraries and their vital role in communities. We want them to thrive. That means we have to find new ways of having more dialog about what our shared future can look like. We have a long history together--much has changed, and much will continue to change.

A HarperCollins ebook will remain on a library's e-bookshelf until the maximum number of circulations is reached, and for many books 26 circulations could last several years.