Social Intelligence

After reading Edward M. Corrado and Kathryn A. Frederick’s article about subject guides and library software for subject guides, I thought about potential uses for this software for public libraries. This software could be used for a library of digital links  for a public library as well as the uses described in this article in the academic realm. I was surprised that no one seemed to mention the fact that some proprietary software has a built-in alert system for upgrading links. I wondered whether the alert system is a specialized application of cataloguing/metadata software and is not included in the subject guide software. The problem is that alerts are still a relatively new addition to cataloguing software (I was part of a discussion on this technology approximately 8 years ago).  Cataloguers are leary of adding web sources to their catalogues because the websites and their content can be transient in nature. The extra work involved in maintaining links and making sure that previously discovered sites have not been shutdown or highjacked by others is a worry. A similiar worry likely exists for subject librarians maintaining subject guides. I have been to static subject guides where a third or more of the links were dead so maintainance is important. While link libraries and subject guides are a time consuming project being able to delegate the checking of links to reliable staff or volunteers who may be manning a quiet reference or circulation desk might be a worthwhile option. Another option is to have a digital suggestion/problem box at the base of your link library so that suggestions for useful links and  a note about dead links can be sent directly to the staff member or members maintaining the site.

If social software is about collaboration and connection then a site maintained by both patrons and library personnel could be an interesting way of connecting with your library community and promoting communication. We keep hearing in books, like John Palfrey and Urs Gasser’s Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives, how much more connected the digital natives ie. teenagers and twentysomethings, are to the internet they grew up with or are growing up on than the digital immigrants ie. the older set and I include myself in this group. Why not utilize all this digital knowhow to create the most user friendly and utilized web community for our libraries? This is an idea that some of the university blogs and wikis have been capitalizing on that we have check out in the last few weeks.