Social metadata for libraries, archives and museums part 1: site reviews

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.

A 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. In addition, working group members surveyed site managers, analyzed the survey results and discussed the factors that contribute to successful - and not so successful - use of social metadata. They also considered issues related to assessment, content, policies, technology, and vocabularies.

This report - the first of three - provides an environmental scan of the 76 sites reviewed as well as a more detailed review of 24 representative sites.