To what extent are users helping the Library of Congress by adding metadata / comments? - Meaningful description of images and increased visibility of holdings

1. User-Contributed Descriptive Metadata for Libraries and Cultural Institutions Michael A. Zarro and Robert B. Allen Drexel University College of Information Science & Technology www.ischool.drexel.edu

2. “The Library of Congress is asking the public for help.” Flickr Commons Launch, 1/16/2008

3. Outline Research Question Background: The Flickr Commons Methods Results Discussion and Future Work

4. To what extent are users helping the Library of Congress by adding metadata / comments? a. Meaningful description of images b. Increased visibility of holdings

5. Flickr Commons “The key goals of The Commons on Flickr are to firstly show you hidden treasures in the world's public photography archives,and secondly to show how your input and knowledge can help make these collections even richer.”

6. http://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/sets/

7. Owner Information Web statistics Site Navigation People in Photo Tags License Privacy 1. Photo 2. Library supplied data 3. User-Contributions 4. New comment form

8. User-Contributions

9. Comment Form

10. Flickr Commons Pilot Project Library staff and “resources are limited to provide detailed descriptions and historical context” “tap into the expertise in the communities of interest on the Web and elicit contributions that provide a richer experience for the users of the collections” “Flickr members willingness to expend high levels of effort on history detective work”http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/flickr_report_final.pdf

11. Methods for our Study Examined 3 photo sets: 1043 images Downloaded a tab-delineated file of all photos and comments via Flickr API Manually reviewed comments Non-exclusive categorization of comments Personal and Historical Link Out Correction and Translation Link In

12. Categories Personal and Historical: expanded knowledge about the holding through statements of fact or personal recollection. Link Out:hyperlinks to resources such as personal Flickr photos or Wikipedia articles Corrections and Translations:including “conversations” among users Link In:adding the Library’s images to groups of similar images on Flickr.

13. Photo Sets Illustrated Newspaper Supplements 364 B & W images Mystery Pictures Users were asked to help identify 22 color images. Photochrom Travel Views 657 color images of geographic locations

14. Example Comments Actually it's now "Frederiksborg Slot, Hillerød, Denmark", but when the picture was taken, the spelling in this picture could very well have been correct. I live just 1500 meters from here, and my grandfather used to work as a gardener in the park around the castle. He lived in a little house just outside the frame of this picture. Frederiksborg Castle isn't situated in Copenhagen, but in Hillerød, approximately 35 km from the center of Copenhagen. It is now a museumwhere you can see a large collection of historic paintings. The spelling of a lot of these place names seems to be German. In Danish: Fredriksborg Slot. My [photo] of Frederiksborg Castle from the same location in Hillerød. 1,2,3 3 2

15. Results 3 images sets, 1043 Images total: 37% had at least 1 descriptive comment

16. Discussion Patrons are active contributors. Libraries can enhance holdings with user- contributed annotations. “Extended collections” may include library and non-library digital resources.

17. Extended Collections Hillerød, approximately 35 km from the center of Copenhagen It is now a museum

18. Future Work Interface and visual design Enhanced outreach to patrons (non-Flickr) Better Categorization Patron to patron conversations? Patron to library conversations? Filtering: Removal of “spam” comments

19. Thank You Questions? Contact us: michael.a.zarro@drexel.edu rba@drexel.edu www.ischool.drexel.edu