Week 6: Wikis in libraries

One of my main concerns when considering the different social software we've been discussing is the usefulness of the particular software - be it a wiki, blog, or RSS feed - for the particular library. Each tool so far has demonstrated great potential when used in the right place at the right time. For me, wikis seem to have a different kind of potential in their ability to manage knowledge for a group of people. Interactivity, gathering multiple viewpoints, and the subsequent potential for great ideas and documents are inherent in generating wikis and these are all incentives to utilizing wikis in libraries.

As with blogs and RSS, "the key is to use wikis to fill a need, not to find a need for a wiki because you want to use a wiki" (from On uses for wikis and gardening). This principle is exemplified in the cases that we examined for this week. The Wyoming Authors Wiki successfully manages a vast amount of information on authors from Wyoming, and the USC Aiken Gregg-Graniteville Library wiki functions very well as a unique library homepage. The Butler WikiRef, on the other hand, did not seem to me to fill a great need. The idea behind this wiki is good (to gather information on the usefulness of different reference sources), but the wiki seemed to me to be an appendage to rather than a highlight of the main library website. I'm not sure how much interest a site like this would have for the general library community.

Some features I liked about successful wikis were similar to features I appreciated in a good library blog: appealing to the eye, easy to read and navigate, and clear links (both hyperlinks and visual cues like colors and logos) to the parent organization/library. I also appreciated when the purpose of the wiki was stated clearly. Princeton Public Library's wiki does all of this well. The name of the wiki leaves no doubt as to its purpose, and each aspect of the main page connects as well. There are links to the library and its catalogue and the Princeton Library logo is used on the main page.

The pointers given by Farkas in So you want to build a wiki? will be helpful for me as we experiment with our new wiki at work. I really like the idea of adding content to the wiki before other people start using it. This can function as a semi-structure until people get comfortable working with their ideas and wiki pages on their own. What interests me most about wikis is their potential as an intranet-type of site. Wikis can become a centralized, but evolving, source of information unlike intranets, which I find to be quite static. The ability to link between an endless number of wiki pages provides a level of interactivity that can be difficult to achieve on other staff sites.

I also appreciate the great flexibility that the wiki format provides. They can be used as subject guides, library websites, department websites, repositories for collaborative projects, etc. The point is really to pool information and ideas and make them easily accessible and navigable for individuals inside and, depending on the type of wiki, outside the library.

A couple of notes about wiki software itself. I like that wikis have their own simplified markup, because this opens up their use to people who may not feel comfortable with other forms of web publishing. I also like that, like blogs, there is a variety of wiki software to choose from. You can have your site hosted or host it on your own server and there are varying levels of complexity for novices all the way up to experts. This makes it much easier for a novice like me to get my feet wet!