Community Tools

• Tools used on major community websites
• Still very new or not yet existing on library websites.
• These tools allow users to interact with content and each other, libraries will want to leverage these social and community tools to build community within their websites and create an online third place.

  User Profiles
  	Heart of the community website Provide users with an online identity Point of origin from which user can navigate site Reference point for users to find & connect with one another Bonds user to the library's "brand" Place for personalized content such as: saved titles, user-created content, friends, recommendations, wish lists, ratings and reviews, personal RSS feeds, as well as reputation information Denver Public Library's MySpace Profile
  Tagging
  	Feature of most community websites A way for users to attach meaningful keywords to content Allows users to catalog and categorize digital resources User-created tags are pooled within the community to create a folksonomy Reflects the vocabulary and needs of all users A tag cloud is a display of the most frequently used tags - it is a discovery tool as well as an alternate form of navigation Would enable patrons to browse and discover new resources Offer libraries insight about how their users categorize and organize information The Danbury Library has integrated tagging into their OPAC.
  User Comments
  	A way to interact with digital content directly Enable users to engage in and ignite conversations on the Web Authors can take part in conversation as well Comments on blog posts, videos, photos, news stories, and other users Comments within the OPAC would let users provide brief commentary on library materials Comments on library website would encourage users to provide feedback, ask questions, and launch discussions Ann Arbor District Library has enabled user comments on their website. The Hennepin County Library allows comments within their OPAC.
  User Reviews & Ratings
  	Ratings - a way for users to rank media or information as well as on and offline products Everything from news articles and recipes to electronic equipment Reviews - Enables users to write in-depth reviews of products, services, and media online Empowers users, gives sense of value Enables website to provide users with a valuable collection of content by leveraging community itself (Amazon) Monroe Public Library Teen Book Review Blog Denver Public Library's Evolver Teen Site allows users to write reviews of books, movies, and CDs.
  Wish Lists
  	Items saved by a user Social aspects come with user’s ability to share lists with others On library website users would be able to save library resources of all formats including books, websites, subject guides, and videos Hennepin County Library allows patrons to create book lists
  Friends Lists
  	User's personalized set of connections within the community at large Flickr allows distinction between family, friends, and contacts My Space assigns Tom as first friend, libraries could assign librarians Within a library website environment would allow patrons to connect with other patrons who possess similar interests, share their wish lists, make user recommendations, and further build community
  Top Lists
  	Displays what is currently the most highly favored by the community Glimpse into the Zeitgeist Top Read, Most Emailed, Most Commented, Top Authors, Top Reviewers, Most Popular Library top lists could include most popular books, top authors, top websites, top raters and reviewers, and most popular tags Arbor District Library's "Hot Items"
  Social Bookmarking
  	Allows users to bookmark websites Favorites become portable, as well as public and social Users can browse others’ favorites to discover new resources In a library community users could save website resources as well as items from within the library’s catalog University of Pennsylvania Library's Penn Tags