[Metadatalibrarians] folksonomy authorities?

[Karen Benko]

Hello all,

I am still in the early stages of learning about this metadata stuff. I 
have a question about the tension between user-generated tags and 
centrally-controlled vocabulary. I've seen library catalogs that use 
both, but I worry that given both, users will prefer the tags since they 
are new & interesting, and also usually are more noticeable on the 
screen. And yet, of course we should have the best of both options, if 
we can get it.

I've been thinking that it would be interesting to try user generated 
*cross-references* in centrally-controlled authority records (which 
probably wouldn't be called authority records but that's the only phrase 
I know for them). So rather than tag the item, a user could tag the 
heading from the controlled vocabulary. Rather than add "accents" to _My 
fair lady_, the could add "accents" to "Speech and social status" and 
"English language--Dialects--Morphology." Someone else might add 
"accents" to "Vietnamese language--Spelling." Then a search on that tag 
would bring up all items with that heading or those headings assigned. 
If the same tag were applied to multiple headings, the results could be 
grouped according to the applicable heading.

Given my inexperience, I doubt I can be the first person to have thought 
of this. Does anyone on the list know of its ever being tried? I would 
like to read about any attempts, successful or unsuccessful, but I have 
no idea where to even begin looking.

Thanks for any suggestions,

Karen

-- 
Karen Gorss Benko
Catalog Librarian
Williams College
Williamstown, Massachusetts
Karen.Gorss.Benko at williams.edu

New Library: Read all about it! http://library.williams.edu/newlibrary