Week Five

Wikis are a resource that would really work in libraries if they are implemented well. My first exposure like many with a wiki was wikipedia, then I used wikis during my master's program to share information with classmates and our teacher for different classes, and in a past job we had an internal wiki that was very useful.

The issue of wikis having reliable and valuable information has so many variables that it's hard to answer. How many people who actively be contributing, is there a restriction on who can make changes, how often and for what purpose the wiki will be used for, what is the subject of the wiki. For the library, I think the key to the wiki being reliable is for there are moderators who look through the changes for spam/graffiti and who are knowledgeable about the subject so that they can correct mistakes. This question bring on another question that plagues the internet in general: Is it better to have no information or the incorrect/unreliable information?

I worked at a library that had an internal wiki and it was very useful. Because it had a search tool, there was easy access to policy information and troubleshooting including tips on the computers and printing that would take much longer to find if one had to go through the desktop documents. The library could have an internal current events page that staff can change regularly and with ease to give information about things like canceled events or seasonal frequently asked questions.

For the wiki exercise this week I added information to favorite music and favorite movie and it was very simple.