Week 9 Wikis

I looked at several of the links to information on wikis and can appreciate the wide range of uses a wiki can have not just for our library but for our organization. I was particularly interested in the New Zealand Police Act wiki giving the public and other interested bodies an opportunity to give their views on legislation reform. I liked the Library Success wiki and found some great information on marketing for libraries . Conference wikis are a great idea especially for the social networking aspect of conference attendance . In our library if we could add wiki functionality to our catalogue I can see terrific advantages in readers being able to comment on the books they have found useful and that they would like to recommend to other personnel. I can also see that our Links to Useful Websites could be expanded by contributions from other sectors of the organization. I personally have never liked the idea of wikipedia and would not trust the entries -but then even Encyclopedia Britannica can get the facts wrong sometimes. Public libraries could definitely cement their position as being a hub of the community by developing community guide wikis. I did look at the information on wiki farms but decided not to attempt to set up my own wiki at this stage as our Library Manager has already created a wiki which I am sure we can use when developing library policies and procedures particularly as we have staff working in two locations and do not have many opportunites for group discussions.