Dedicated S-USIH blog readers and writers may have noticed a few changes around the blog this summer. As briefly explained in my The Idea of Metadata? post, as blog editor my first order of business has been to make the wealth of information, commentary, and resources of the blog more accessible and structured.
Last summer, we brought in a content specialist, Caroline Roberts, to discuss information taxonomy and how to approach the thousands of posts (before posting this, the blog stands at 4,011 posts), hundreds of categories (210), and thousands of tags (4,000+).
(Side note: we are such generative content creators here at S-USIH, that we have the distinction of having one of the highest totals of tags on a blog that Caroline had ever seen. We’re number 1! We’re number 1!)
Here is what we learned:
Information taxonomy, which we are all likely aware of as power users of libraries and online databases, is a practice of classification. These processes on websites provide standardized naming conventions, make information findable and understandable at first glance, and connect users with relevant content to what they are searching.
For example, providing these structures prohibits users from running into roadblocks to finding the information they seek: so similar tags aren’t siloed, such as separating “academics” from “academic” or “the 1980s” from “the Eighties.”
Taxonomy on websites falls into two familiar buckets: Categories and Tags.
Previously, because of the generative community and wealth of information, as well as shifting content over time, S-USIH’s categories and tags began to be used in similar ways.
To help our readers better access S-USIH’s content, here is how we are changing things up:
Categories are the broader term. These are categories of posts based on genre, now divided into IDEAS (our content and commentary posts for discussion), BOOK REVIEWS (familiar to all and regularly published on weekends), MEMBER NEWS (for members and about members), MODERN INTELLECTUAL HISTORY (about the journal), PRIZES AND AWARDS (an annual event), PROGRAMS AND RESOURCES (teaching information, grant programs, anything of use in writing and doing our jobs), and S-USIH CONFERENCE (all things annual meeting).
Categories, as broad buckets for information on a website, should always be fewer than tags. Posts will only fall into one category.
Tags cut ACROSS categories and posts and are narrower and specific to content within these genres. Tags help readers explore content and related information. Posts can have up to five tags.
The process for reorganizing and providing a standardized taxonomy for the tags is a longer process than the new categories system. We are currently working to make the tags more useful and identifiable, adding key information about the tag for users. For example, instead of just tagging A War for the Soul of America, we will add (book) to the end to identify it, or to Full Metal Jacket we will add (film).
This process will take time! (See the previous tally of our tags.) But we hope that by standardizing our taxonomy we will help readers delve into the rich decade-plus worth of content on the S-USIH blog to enhance teaching, research, and further conversation about the history of ideas.
As we unveil this new taxonomy, we invite readers to delve back into content, explore the tags, and to nominate their TOP THREE favorite S-USIH blog posts or discussions inspired by a post. Email Katherine Jewell (kjewell1 at fitchburgstate.edu) with your top lists or submit them using the form below:
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