Library clips

HubLog: HubMed Tag Storage mentions that the famous alternate interface (HubMed) for PubMed now has incorporated tags for items of interest…and these tags can be shared in a folksonomy.

This is the wave of things to come…journal databases with an alternative way to browse items, and also now being able to share items…especially with tools, like Freetag, where you can integrate a folksonomy into your website.

I guess it’s like having a version of del.icio.us specified and incorporated into a journal database.

So now you can search by the MESH subject terms (thesaurus, subject field) or by the folksonomy user-defined terms…take your pick.

Although, it is not a replacement for the subject field, as the folksonomy only contains items that have been tagged (so it’s not exhaustive, especially in its infancy).

Since HubMed already has feeds in tracking search queries, it will too have feeds to track tags and maybe users.

It is so easy to track a tag or a user to keep up with the lastest…instead of/as well as doing the SDI yourself (feeds for search queries), just track a user or a tag

…the additional thing, as in any social bookmark tool, is that you can share a tag to store items of interest to an informal group (I wonder if future offerings will have formal groups).

Great stuff!…sharing and discovery…a collaboration tool that induces the advancement of knowledge.

What I mean is that with these social tools you are compelled to organise your own mini-collection of stuff (your own database of articles you like, that you can store, organise, and retrieve - without these tools you might not have bothered..it’s so easy now).

The bonus is that everyone can see everyone elses collection…so now we are collecting and sharing in a more formalised and easier way

…whereas before-hand, sharing was only a “push” scenario, where you send someone an email pointing to a link…now it’s a “pull” scenario, as anyone can browse your tags or your account, you don’t even know they are discovering something because of your input.

…and also by default you are contributing to an emerging vocabulary….all these things are happening as a result of you bookmarking and tagging an item…powerful stuff!

So now we are not only discovering information from the journal database itself, but we can also discover contents without going to the journal database itself…we can discover contents from the general folksonomy (tag level or user level).

Browsing a folksonomy is different than browsing a journal database (the contents is portioned in different ways - by tag, by user), you are going to come across items you usually wouldn’t see in your traditional search approach (there is a lot more chance for serendipity), so it is an add-on tool that augments the experience, and is not seen as a replacement.

I also find a difference in the longevity of the discovery path.

In journal databases, you can consult the terms from a thesaurus, and use them in the search query.
The results may also suggest some related terms, and if you find an article you like, check out the subject terms applied to that article, and then try those terms to find more relevant stuff…the emphasise is on findability.

The above description also applies to a folksonomy…some additions are that, when you find an item:

• you can also view other tags applied to this item (common tags)
• also view a users account to see if they have more articles you may be interested in (clicking on the tags of a users account will lead to more discovery; more users, and more tags)
• or click on a URL and see the common tags and users accounts who have bookmarked that page
• view items according to a date
• see more

…and you can keep clicking and clicking on your discovery path

…of course you can be side-tracked, a la surfing the web, but then folksonomies aren’t just about finding, they are about learning and discovery.