“Tags” are descriptive labels applied to something to help categorize it. These are usually submitted by the users of the system so that they can organize the items they’re interested in, whether photos, books, articles, videos, or whatever. Most of us have seen tags being successfully used now on sites like Flickr, Del.icio.us, Technorati, Last.fm, and Gmail.Even Amazon uses tags now.

Use of tags by so many big-name websites shows that tags have become standard or normal facets of organizing materials.

What makes tags so popular? Users of those kinds of websites can apply their own descriptions to items instead of just relying on the native organization of the website. These sites also allow you to search by the tags, so clicking on a tag will bring up all the items in their system that have had that tag applied to them.

While not necessarily thought of as “tags,” the same functionality is built into social networking software like Facebook or MySpace, but the tags instead apply to personal interests. That means clicking on them will connect you with others who share those interests.

One of my favorite websites is LibraryThing. It’s an AWESOME tool that combines library organization (mostly personal) with social networking, allowing you to keep track of your personal book collection while connecting with others who own the same (or similar) books. Recommendations are even available based on your library or an individual book. There was a VERY nice article in the January 2007 issue of Library Journal (pages 40-42) that explains how LibraryThing works and makes it seem very attractive to librarians. (Like what self-respecting librarian WOULDN’T want a cool online tool for organizing their own personal libraries?) Congrats to Tim Spaulding for his idea and the success of his product!

I don’t know about you, but it sure does make ME eager for library catalogs to add tagging! Imagine the current functionality of online library catalogs combined with tagging. You’ll still get the controlled vocabulary that is the classification system and subject headings, but you’ll get the extra benefit of applying tags that are relevant to you, regardless of how the library classified your book. This isn’t to downplay the role of the cataloger or even THINKING about suggesting doing away with them; instead it’s an add-on that increases usability for everyone.

The Ann Arbor (Mich.) District Library is a great example of using tags within a library catalog. They also have images for many of the items in their online catalog AND they have RSS feeds on their search results (based on your search terms) so you can be notified when the results of your search change. That’s HOT!!