16. Learn about wikis and discover some innovative ways that libraries are using them.
I saw Meredith Farkas speak at ALA at a session called “Wiking the Blog and Walking the Dog”…and I LOVE the idea of adding user input or wiki functionality to the catalog. I blogged about that for Thing 7 regarding John Blyberg’s presentation from the same ALA session. In addition to making a library’s catalog look more familiar to the many people who use Amazon or Barnes and Noble’s website, it also provides more of a comprehensive portrait of a specific book, movie, or program. If someone found a book in the catalog, they could tell what others thought about it (either by its rating or by comments) and other materials they might like. It also gives I think this ties into the idea of serendipitous discovery, which is something I like about Aquabrowser as well. It would also reduce our workload, as when customers are making recomendations for books to each other we are tapping into their knowledge and experience in order to help other customers. For example, a co-worker had a question today for a family-friendly movie that teaches moral lessons. Honestly, I think customers could answer this question better for each other through ratings, comments, recommendations, and lists than I could as someone who doesn’t have children and probably has a different concept of what is “appropriate.”
I really like the SJCPL subject guides as well. It provides an explanation for each topic, simplifies the search for materials by listing titles AND Dewey numbers, and successfully meets the customers in their space, on their time. For example, the subject of “Voter Information” includes upcoming elections, current elected politicians, and information about where and how to vote. In short, it contains answers to questions that people frequently have, and using a wiki to provide this information would simplify their journey to finding it. Also, with a typical library website only one or two librarians have control over the website or list of subject guides and links. But with a wiki, if ANYONE finds a new source, they can simply add it to the wiki themselves, which is less work for everyone involved and gets people intrinsically involved in information sharing. I know there are downsides to this open editing as well, but it seems that with the regular monitoring that goes on with a wiki, it’s not a serious problem (at least with a public library-sized wiki…I’m not talking about Wikipedia and authority). ’
A use that I think would work in HCPL, in addition to the subject guides, is using a wiki for deparmental connections. As a children’s librarian, I value the information that’s shared at Children’s Services meetings about conference attendance, educational experiences, program ideas, and miscellaneous valuable resources (both in print and people). However, there are continuously more and more people at these meetings as the library grows and with a static amount of time per meeting, it can be a less than ideal opportunity to share these experiences and ideas. If there was a Children’s Services wiki, we could share information about these topics! I don’t think a wiki would take the place of the meetings, but it would give more of an opportunity to include the parts of a discussion that are likely to get cut out of a meeting, or only given 5 minutes, so that we could focus on making decisions and planning at the meetings. What do people think of this possibility?!
