UContent: The Information Professional's Guide to User-Generated Content, by Nicholas G. Tomaiuolo

UContent: The Information Professional’s Guide to User-Generated Content. By Nicholas G. Tomaiuolo. Medford, N.J.: Information Today, 2011. 340 pages. Paperback $49.50. ISBN 9781573874250.

User-generated content, or UContent, as author Nicholas Tomaiuolo has dubbed it, has become an significant part of the web resources that we use and access every day. In this book, Tomaiuolo explains why user-generated content is important for libraries and librarians, and provides direction for integrating it into collections. In many cases he provides instruction for contributing to UContent ourselves.

There are many types of user-generated content, and Tomaiuolo devotes a chapter to each. After a brief introduction to UContent, he delves into one of the earliest examples of user-generated content, which is Project Gutenberg (PG). This unique resource has continued to grow, and many librarians and other enthusiasts continue to make contributions to the online collection. Tomaiuolo walks the reader through the steps necessary to contribute a new work to PG, and recounts his own experiences along the way.

In subsequent chapters Tomaiuolo addresses many other types of user-generated content. Blogs created by librarians and libraries are addressed in Chapter 3, and podcasts and other video resources are addressed in Chapter 5. In a very thought-provoking exploration of wikis, Tomaiuolo discusses not only the use of wikis for information sharing within and across libraries, but also the possibilities that exist for librarians to contribute content to well-known wikis, such as Wikipedia. He encourages librarians to add information about their unique content to Wikipedia, and to provide links in Wikipedia to resources housed in libraries’ special collections.

Other chapters address user-generated content that libraries should consider making available to their patrons. These include self-published materials and access to “citizen journalism.” Tomaiuolo also makes a strong case for providing access to online reviews and for allowing users to “tag” library resources through the library catalog interface. The advantages and disadvantages of tagging practices and folksonomies are fully explored. Two chapters are devoted to the development of custom search engines and the creation of custom maps, both of which could be useful applications for libraries. In the final chapter Tomaiuolo thoroughly explores the use of the photo archiving site Flickr, and its potential applications for libraries.

Overall, this is an excellent resource with many exciting applications for both libraries and librarians. Tomaiuolo has an engaging writing style that retains the reader’s interest throughout, and he breaks up the narrative by inserting interviews with prominent industry leaders. The book contains an index and a robust list of reference at the end of each chapter. It would be an excellent addition to any public or academic library where there is interest in new technology and social media.