Knowledge Representation
“Students are proficient in the theory and application of skills essential for knowledge representation in evolving technology environments, in any chosen area of specialization.”
III.A. Students analyze, organize and describe various formats of information objects.
LIS 6711 Organization of Knowledge I
LibraryThing Romance and Social Cataloging and Tagging
Collating and organizing materials based on format, subgenre, and publishing information (distinction of an advanced reader copy or published novel) was delightful. Romance books are ubiquitous; spanning subgenres such as contemporary, historical, romantasy (fusing romance and fantasy), monster, and offering a range of immersive reading experiences. Romance books can encompass both closed-door fade-to-black allusions of more sensual relations or high-spice (also known as open-door) carnal encounters. These scenes are meant not only to titillate, but to truly advance the plot and allow characters to divulge their innermost thoughts or emotional growth. Genre-specific bookstores are opening at an impressive rate, with the predominance of romance bookstores coinciding with the genre’s explosion. Yet romance is a highly personal genre, building on a reader’s desires, preferences, or comfort levels to match with the right book at the right moment. Carefully and meticulously cataloging these titles will assist information professionals in providing better reader advisory services as well as staying current with the latest publishing industry dates and trends.
LIS 6514 Digital Libraries Literary Life in Key West and Literary Life in Key West Digital Library
Literary Life in Key West (LLKW) encompasses materials across collections and institutions to best highlight relevant resources and items for viewers. Divided into two collections, Key West Authors and Readers in the Florida Keys and Key West, LLKW spans critical essays, historical photographs, literary anthologies, and local news articles. Both local viewers and tourists to the Florida Keys are interested in these topics; LLKW digital library functions as a comprehensive resource to locate, peruse, and examine these items in one array. This will assist both avid researchers and casual viewers as they navigate multiple collections, holding institutions, and sensitive or delicate materials.
III.B. Students identify and apply best practices in the use of different technologies for knowledge representation.
LIS 6711 Organization of Knowledge I
Folksonomies and Social Tagging for Knowledge Organization
The act of social tagging while organizing knowledge is collaborative, constantly evolving, and a revealing glimpse into cataloguers’ opinions. It is amusing to examine how individual items are catalogued, especially through the juxtaposition of carefully curated professional taxonomies alongside the colloquial, communal, sometimes metacognitive, social jokes and tags. Through this comparison, information professionals can conduct more thorough and in-depth readers’ advisory, targeted research, and even collection development. Folksonomies reflect the personal opinions and preferences, whereas controlled vocabularies aid information professionals in storing, locating, and recalling desired items or content. By having a well-rounded understanding of both organizational methods, information professionals can better connect with and serve their patrons and colleagues.
LIS 6110 History of Libraries
History of Libraries traces the rich progression of libraries, from ancient private repositories exclusively for learned scholars, to community hubs providing quality of life enrichment, to today’s information deluge available digitally. This Wikipedia Edit-A-Thon assignment illustrates the collective, communal effort prevalent in current digital record keeping. This also illustrates the reliability evident in certain digital sources, by tracking a page’s user updates, inclusive of additions, subtractions, formatting, and supplementary media. It represents information and media literacy, continuous evolution of knowledge organization management, and a current form the library can embody within the contemporary knowledge landscape.