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Full-Text Articles in Library and Information Science

A Crowdsourced Library Help System, Tao Zhang, Ilana Stonebraker Oct 2014

A Crowdsourced Library Help System, Tao Zhang, Ilana Stonebraker

Libraries Reports

Help information regarding library resources and tools is a critical part of library services, but existing help channels are often fragmented and under-maintained. Library help needs to have a centralized and engaging platform for users to receive assistance and experts including librarians, faculty, and students to share knowledge and experience. To meet this critical need, we have developed CrowdAsk, an open-source help system for academic libraries based on the concept of crowdsourcing. CrowdAsk supports voting of questions and answers by users as well as scores and badges for user motivation. Our implementation and evaluation with undergraduate classes at Purdue University …


Improving Instruction: Metaliteracy Through Crowdsourcing In The Classroom, Chris Gibson, Ilana R. Stonebraker Aug 2014

Improving Instruction: Metaliteracy Through Crowdsourcing In The Classroom, Chris Gibson, Ilana R. Stonebraker

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Crowdsourcing is cooperation between individuals to create content. This allows for multiple insights into a problem to reach a more complete answer. Metaliteracy is “a unified construct that supports the acquisition, production, and sharing of knowledge in collaborative online communities.” (Mackey & Jacobson, Reframing Information as a Metaliteracy, 2011, 62-62) By using crowdsourced information in tandem with metaliteracy, questions can be answered more rapidly and correctly than before. Academic institutions are in the early phases of implementing crowdsourced answer systems. Crowdsourcing is already commonplace among top academic and research institutions. Projects like CERN are proof that combining resources and non-traditional …