Wacky Wiki

What has always frustrated me about wikis and blogs is people who really don't "get" what they are, hear about them as a new shiny thing or something other libraries are doing, so say "we can use a blog/wiki for that." Without thinking about what the technology is, what they want as an end product, etc.

So, do you want something that highlights the latest news? A blog.

Looking for a way to organize information, and create something that will be more for reference? A wiki.

Blogging about findings:

SJCPL Subject Guides:
http://www.libraryforlife.org/subjectguides/index.php/Main_Page I like how it's not library-organized, but customer-organized, and pretty clearly reflects the types of questions real! live! people! ask. It works on two levels: helping librarians answer frequently asked questions, and being there for patrons to discover and use on their own.

Library Success Wiki:
http://libsuccess.org/index.php?title=Main_Page What's not to like about a best-practices resource, and having a place to not reinvent the wheel. It's great that people can add to it; and respect professionalism to allow people to add to it.

ALA Chicago 2009 Wiki:
http://wikis.ala.org/annual2009/index.php/Main_Page I was about to say I'd bookmark this for future reading, but I guess I should really del.icio.us it.

In library setting, this works well for:

-- Information that you want everyone to know. The library ones that show subject guides for frequent questions is a good illustration for that.

-- Where trust exists. It's a bit scary for some places to say, "anyone can change this...anyone can change what I write...anyone can have input into something "official."" Realistically speaking, this means it depends on the purpose and mission of the wiki. One for HR policies? Only HR staff would have authority. One for marketing ideas? That can have more people who contribute.

-- Time to play. It takes time to master the technology, to draft and revise things. Time encourages people to do things.

-- Respect differences. Writing, editing, etc. is not easy; is not quick; and is not for everyone. Those of us who like writing (like me!) will embrace it. Making someone do this does not help anyway. But at the same time, that's no reason to only have one or two people do all the work! That creates burn out.