Week Four - I really really gotta....

What are the potentials for using Del.icio.us as a research assistance tool? What are some of the ways in which the Arcadia Public Library can take advantage of social bookmarking sites?

Potentially, Delicious can help you link from one useful site to another by finding other sites bookmarked by other people looking for similar information. To help illustrate my point and answer the last question about how APL can take advantage of social bookmarking sites at the same time…. Let’s say that APL has organized bookmarks on Delicious. One set of bookmarks could be links to research sites. Another set could be links to other libraries that have Delicious accounts. Just as one person finds APL’s research links, APL users could link to other libraries’ research links that APL might not have.

Is Del.icio.us just an easy way to create bookmarks that can be accessed from anywhere?

To say that Delicious is just an easy way of creating bookmarks that can be accessed from anywhere I think simplifies the sites’ potential, and I believe it could be much more than that. Yes, it does simplify the way you are able to access your personal bookmarks online, but I think “happy accidents” of finding a site you would not necessarily have found on your own is a plus. The potential for finding sites similar to one that you are looking at could expand the information you otherwise would not have.

Can you see how public tags allow information discovery? Does this seem useful to you?

I think public tagging is a double-edged sword. Yes, I can see how it allows for information discovery, but I can also see how overuse of tags can be time wasted. So yes and no, it can be useful, but can also be a burden if used for research purposes.

What was the most interesting thing you learned?

I think the most interesting thing I’ve learned is that I no longer have to try and memorize the sites I think I would need at another time. I will probably have some sites memorized that I frequent like the SGV Tribune site, or checking for my email, but a research site I found while surfing at work, I can post to my Delicious account and use at home without having to memorize the site or write it down. I also think that people’s bookmarks are really interesting. The variety of subject material can be a nuisance when doing research, but for the occasional time when you just want to surf… what better way to find out what else is out there than to wade and see. :)