Today’s question is about tags- do you tag? How do you tag? How do you feel about tagging- do you think it would be better to have standardized tags, like libraries have standardized subject headings, or do you like the individualized nature of tagging? What are your top 5 tags and what do they say about your collection or your reading habits?
I like tags. I use them for myself, not really for the benefit of anyone else – I tag things like genre, subject, location, when I read the book, if I haven’t read it yet, and so on. I particularly like being able to sort my library by said tags, because I wouldn’t normally see all those books put together on the shelves, since I typically shelve in alphabetical order. I do sometimes tag a bit haphazardly. I have a tag “England” which is meant to be all books set in England, but I’m not always good about applying that and other location tags, for example. I like them, but I don’t generally have a long string of tags attached to each book, just 2 or 3.
I don’t think that standardized tags are necessary. When you click on a book, you can see the most common tags, which generally eliminates rare ones that aren’t useful to the wider population. I think user-generated tags are much more interesting than a bunch of standard ones.
As for my most common tags, they are fantasy (210), historical romance (178), historical fiction (156), england (140), and school (136). I do read a lot of fantasy and historical fiction. I think the historical fiction tag has probably experienced the most growth lately. The historical romance is a throwback to high school. England is basically my favorite country, and I have history and historical fiction mostly from there, so its presence in the top 5 is not unexpected. Lastly, the school tag is not surprising, as I’ve acquired plenty of books through classes, especially English classes.
Like you I tag for my own benefit, with general genre tags and then they get more and more in depth. Location, setting and date of writing are important factors to me for some reason.
I use the location theme for a tag as well. I love to read a novel set in a city that I “know” and visit the sites and walk the roads along with the characters. It’s also great to “explore” an unknown city with the characters. If I’m heading on a trip I like to read a novel or two based on the area, to get me in the mood!
i like the idea of location tagging- where i was when i read this or that book. something to look in to!
I’m with you. I tag for myself, if it helps somebody else- I’m glad, but I don’t go out of my way to.
Oh, I never actually thought to tag where I read the book – that’s an interesting idea. I can usually remember based on certain dates, but I might add them for extraordinary locations! I do like to read books set in places that I’m going to visit, though, it always makes the visit that much more interesting.
Could you point me in the right direction of your library at LT? I tried searching for it but my limited techy skills have failed me again. I’d really love to browse your historical fiction as I’ve really gotten into the genre over the past year or so.
Thanks ~ Marcia
Sure! I hope you find lots of interesting ones in my library!
ETA: Actually, here‘s my historical fiction. For easier reference. =)