iSchool Capstone

Folksonomy in Fanfiction: A Catalog of Our Own

Project tags:

information architecture

information literacy

knowledge organization

I developed a seminar that teaches undergraduate students, specifically English majors, about a newer form of cataloging in a way that negates the need for any prior knowledge about cataloging. My seminar takes a look at the folksonomy created and maintained in the popular fanfiction website Archive of Our Own (AO3) and how it is different from other forms of cataloging. I do this in part by emphasizing the difference between folksonomies and taxonomies and by comparing the AO3 folksonomy to the library of congress subject headings (LCSH). This seminar is able to be taught anywhere at any time.
Project participants:

Clara Beck

MLIS