Thing #10 -- Wikis

At my library we created a wiki, using PBWiki, that is primarily built and used by our reference assistants. It's a place for information about various aspects of working here and staffing the reference desk. It gives our assistants a way to share what they've learned with those who will follow them--since they're likely to be more aware of passing on information that we may take for granted. Library reference staff can edit it as well, and occasionally do.

The wiki also has a section for "sticky questions," primarily those pesky citation questions that none of us want to have to research twice. (As an academic library, we get lots of requests for citation help.)

I'm involved on a planning group for a regional conference, and we also use PBWiki. It's an easy way for different team members to float ideas, ask for input, and update the rest of us about what they've done or are working on. It's nicer than emails, but email notification of edits ensures we all stay informed of changes.

I wasn't previously aware of the Library Success wiki--it looks like a useful way to share information. I did go in and edit a couple of pages related to online reference.

I was intrigued with the wiki of subject guides that St. Joseph County Public Library created. These look like only librarians edit them. For the subject guides at my library, each one has one person responsible for them, so the collaborative aspect doesn't seem to make that much sense, unless unless we were to open editing up to students, which I don't think we would. However, there is a series of research guides on our web site that aren't assigned to one particular librarian. We use them in our instruction classes, and because they are the responsibility of everyone (or no one) they don't all get edited regularly. Putting them in a wiki and allowing students and faculty to leave comments to let us know when content is out of date or links are broken would be helpful. I think students might also appreciate the search capabilities that a wiki offers. It would allow them to find the guide most useful to them without having to review the entire list.