Lesson #15

Discovery Exercise:
Once you have edited or created a page, write a short blog entry about wikis.
It was fun to make a few entries on pbwiki.com software. I invited the Reference Team to edit "Favorite Restaurants," and I am eager to see what they will come up with.

How could we use a wiki in the library? At today's (8/24/07) brownbag, it was suggested that a wiki could be used as the Libraries' Intranet. Given some of the difficulties with SharePoint, that might be a really good suggestion. Another idea put forth was making a wiki of your presentations. If a number of librarians contributed, this wiki would have the potential to end up as an excellent information source. And finally, I think that wikis could work well for database reviews.

Can you think of another use for a wiki outside the library? For the creation of any document where multiple and diverse perspectives would be beneficial, a wiki could be a very good way to go. (Ex.: Brainstorming, priority setting, et cetera).

One major problem with wikis is those who have an agenda, (a financial or other interest), can edit the wiki to benefit them. (Ex.: "Electronic Voting" in Wikipedia). This could really distort what would otherwise be a superior document.