Library information provider OCLC Research, US, has released a new report titled 'Social Metadata for Libraries, Archives, and Museums. Part 2: Survey Analysis.' This report analyses the results from a social metadata survey that focused on the motivations for creating a website, moderation policies, staffing and site management, technologies used, and criteria for assessing success.
Metadata helps users locate resources that meet their specific needs. But metadata also helps us to understand the data we find and helps us to evaluate what we should spend our time on. Traditionally, staff at libraries, archives, and museums (LAMs) create metadata for the content they manage. However, social metadata - content contributed by users - is evolving as a way to both augment and re-contexutalise the content and metadata created by LAMs. Many cultural heritage institutions are interested in gaining a better understanding of social metadata and also learning how to best utilize their users' expertise to enrich their descriptive metadata and improve their users' experiences.
In the first report, Social Metadata for Libraries, Archives, and Museums, Part 1: Site Reviews, the 21-member RLG Partners Social Metadata Working Group reviewed 76 sites relevant to libraries, archives, and museums that supported such social media features as tagging, comments, reviews, images, videos, ratings, recommendations, lists, links to related articles, etc.
Social Metadata for Libraries, Archives, and Museums Part 2: Survey Analysis is the second report in a series of three. The analysed survey results presented in this second report are from a survey conducted in October-November 2009. Forty percent of the responses came from outside the US. More than 70 percent had been offering social media features for two years or less. Engaging new or existing audiences is used as a success criteria more frequently than any other criteria, and the vast majority of respondents considered their sites to be successful. The survey results indicate that engagement is best measured by quality, not quantity.
The upcoming third report will provide recommendations on social metadata features most relevant to libraries, archives, and museums as well as the factors contributing to success.
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