Wikis

Ah wikis...So intimidating, but so easy to use.
I had to create a wiki for class last fall for several assignments. We used wetpaint.com as our free wiki template. After going through the tutorial, I found it very easy to use. We had to create wikis in groups and submit them as assignments. It was a neat tool, and I saw a lot of potential for use in the library I work in.

My enthusiasm was quickly crushed by those who did not understand wikis and thought they would be a waste of time. There is a lot of fear of blogs and wikis by those who do not care to understand them. They are great ways to communicate and keep all the dialog on a subject in one area.

A coworker of mine has been trying to start an internal wiki for some time. She cannot quite convince the administration of the benefits it would have for staff communication- something we often struggle with.

There are downsides to wikis. We started one after the 2008 SDLA Convention in our department. Communication was great and people were full of ideas, until a member of the administration was invited as a guest on a certain topic. Then no one wanted to comment for fear of what this person might think or say in return. Unless everyone is on board with the idea of the wiki, you cannot force participation. If you do force it, they will not see it as a useful tool, but a tedious task they have to take care of everyday.

I enjoyed the example wikis posted through sdlibrarychallenge. I especially liked the Bull Run Library wiki and the Library Success wikis. They are good examples of use of wikis in a library. I hope to pass them on to my supervisors to inspire them or help accept the importance of wiki use.