Week 10 Learning Journal

1. How does user generated content (ie ratings, reviews, tagging) impact upon or change the way in which users interact with or experience the library and its collection?

To many people I have spoken to, the advent of modern technology has rendered the library obsolete. One of the most obvious examples of this is the ease of getting free material from the internet (Greenhill & Wiebrands, 2012). Greenhill and Wiebrands state the advent of people getting e-books from torrent sites for example; these methods are of course illegal but it is still happening on a large scale (2012). There is not much a library can do to combat this; due to the process of renting an ebook being more difficult than pirating one.

However a library can still remain relevant in such an environment through the use of user generated content. If a library can support user generated content within its collection, it provides an avenue for people to discuss the content of the library's collection. This is the sort of thing that does not happen with pirated materials. A library's primary purpose is to supply a service for the local community; it is easy to see how incorporating technologies that allow people to rate or tag material is a service that many people find valuable. People like to discuss books they have read and movies they have watched, by providing this to a library user-base, it will not only provide a useful service but encourage people to access the library catalogue more and there is a good chance they will also utilise the other services that the library offers.



References

Greenhill, K. & Wiebrands, C. (2012). No library required: the free and easy backwaters of online content sharing. Paper presented at VALA2012. Retrieved from: http://www.vala.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=580&catid=87&Itemid=159