Thing 16: Wikis.

This WebJunction article from 2005 is an excellent explanation of how wikis matter to libraries.

I think that wikis have the most potential for enabling really quick, fast, fact-sharing. The first area I considered wikis for was for other librarians, such as for "best practices" sites. With a wiki, everyone can participate in content-authoring, making it truly collaborative for team-based projects. I've often visited our own system's youth services wiki for storytime ideas and tips from colleauges. Albany County Public Library staff wiki, at http://albystaff.pbwiki.com/, is a good example of using wikis for internal training and support.

I also think wikis are useful as subject guides, as with the St. Joseph County Public Library's Subject Guides at http://www.libraryforlife.org/subjectguides/index.php/Main_Page, an example of a controlled wiki, where only librarians can edit and post. This gives the site a high degree of credibility, and users can get a sense of the currency of the information with the "last updated" information. This site clearly demonstrates how librarians are still key for evaluating and selecting information.

As this article articulated, another hope for wikis is that they help foster a sense of community, and "create a community wiki that would be a one-stop-shop for community information". Frankly, anything like that will have to be as good and more imporantly, as well known as Craigslist! I think the other two possibilities for wikis have been more promising.