Getting Ready to Use PennTags

For Firefox Users:

Firefox Users have two ways to access PennTags. It doesn't matter at all which one you use:
1. There is a yellow tag-looking thing on the right side of the firefox toolbar, which you can install here: http://labs.library.upenn.edu/toolbars
2. Drag the PennTags Bookmarklet to your bookmarks toolbar. You can get the bookmarklet here. A bookmarklet is a little mini-program that activates when you click on it. Once you've put the bookmarklet on your toolbar, you'll simply click the bookmarklet from wherever you are to access it. Find the bookmarklet here:  http://labs.library.upenn.edu/bookmarklets/tags.html .

For Internet Explorer or Safari Users:
Add the TagIt bookmarklet from here http://labs.library.upenn.edu/bookmarklets/tags.html

How to Tag Something from the Web

1. When you are on a document that you think you'd like to see again sometime, or would like to share with someone or some people, click on the tagit link or bookmarklet.
2. A screen should popup asking for your pennkey. Enter it.
3. Once you have been authenticated you will see a form that includes:
   
   1. user account -- your pennkey -- you can NOT edit this
      
   2. url: the site your tagging -- you can NOT edit this
      
   3. Description -- A title for the page you're tagging -- you CAN edit this. If you don't think this really is the title of what you're tagging, feel free to change it to something more appropriate.
   4. Tags -- space separated. Here, enter words you would like to use as keywords for your tags. Remember that every time you hit the space bar you have started a new tag, so if you desperately want to keep two words together, use the under_bar.
      
   5. Click this to hide from public view.
   6. Rate -- we are probably going to remove this functionality, so I don't suggest using it.
   7. A button to TagIt -- if you want, you're done once you've filled out that section. However, to successfully complete the assignment, you'll need to use the bottom section and add your item to a bibliography.
      
   8. Use Note at first when you are collecting items. In the notes field, include some information about what the item is. You will want to go back and write your information about the source here later.
   9. When you know what bibliography you are making, use the "item in a bibliography" button, and write your description there.
      

How to create a tagged item from scratch (without first finding something on the web or elsewhere)

1. Go to http://tags.library.upenn.edu . Login. Click on Post in the top right corner of the screen and fill out the form.

How to Tag a Vcat record

1. When you have searched VCat and clicked on a record, there is a tiny b in the lower left side of the screen. Click on it to activate the tagit screen
   

How to make an Annotated Bibliography

1. When you create the topic of your annotated bibliography (either from scratch -- see above or from a tagged item), choose "Bibliography Topic" as the type of item. This will create this item as a different kind of record.
2. Then, as you find or create items that will live in your bibliography, choose "Item in a bibliography" for their type, and then select the name of the topic to which you'd like to add them. (All of your bibliographies will appear when you've selected "item in a bibliography".)
   

How to View all tagged items by a single person

Go to http://tags.library.upenn.edu .

If you know the username of the person whose tagged items you'd like to see, enter the url as follows:
http://tags.library.upenn.edu/username
Examples: http://tags.library.upenn.edu/okrent or http://tags.library.upenn.edu/winkler4

If you don't know the username of the person you're looking for, you can probably scroll through the recently tagged items at http://tags.library.upenn.edu to find an item tagged by that person. Then, simply click on the username under the tagged item.

How to View Items by Tag

If you know the name of the tag you'd like to see items for, enter the url as follows:
http://tags.library.upenn.edu/tag/tagname
Example: http://tags.library.upenn.edu/tag/guides or http://tags.library.upenn.edu/tag/magazine_covers

To browse for tags http://tags.library.upenn.edu there is a list of all the tags currently in use along the right side of the page. Click on any of the tags to see all items with that tag. When you do that, the display at the right will change. The list of all tags will drop to the lower part of the screen, and you will see at the top right a list of other tags that have been used to tag the same items. For example, clicking on tagging brings up a very long list of items tagged as "tagging". Along the right, there is a list looking like this: