Week 7 thing 16. Wiki madness!

First I have got to say a few things about wikipedia, http://wikipedia.org/ perhaps the most famous wiki in the world. I have serious mixed feeling about wikipedia. On the hand, students should never, ever site wikipedia or get substantial information from Wikipedia. On the other hand, I use WIkipedia nearly evry day both personally and professionally. The difference is in how I use it. I use Wikipedia to point me in the right direction. For instance, the Wiki articles often cite other sites, sources, or books which may be much more definitive then Wikipedia is by itself. Also, Wikipedia is great for things like movie descriptions, and looking up comic book characters who I have forgotten. Things that are not life and death. Wikipedia is certainly a useful tool but it is has to be used in the right way.



Now, one of the wiki I checked out for this discovery exercise really excited me to the possibility of doing one in my system. http://booklovers.pbwiki.com/ is really cool! Patrons write book reviews and e-mail them to staff who then send them a password to put them on the wiki. So it isn't completely unfettered access. I really like the concept of patrons being able to share their opinions of a book with other patrons! This has been done in my system before , but not on line. Patrons really like it when they can be part of the process and sharing your views is always popular. It makes it more personal somehow. for instance, "staff recommends" is always one of our most popular displays. because the patrons know us and it then becomes more personal.



I really liked Library Success: A best practices wiki because it allows librarians from across the country ( and perhaps the world?) to share great ideas,both successes and those valuable learning experiences known as failures.

Looking at these wikis makes me really want one for my system. Also, I find myself wanting a way for patrons to review books accessible directly from out catalog. Perhaps we could could put it behind a hyperlink to make it unobtrusive. This would really increase patron interest in our less trendy books. Sometimes the most interesting things are in the aisle less travelled.