More thoughts on Wikis and web 2.0

Been very busy at work for the last few weeks (heritage festival preparation etc), and so haven't posted for a while! But it has given me time to ruminate on some of the benefits and the potential of wikis.

As information professionals, it is our responsibility to ensure that information can be found when it is sought, and that it can be verified once it is found. So, why not combine the genius of Wikis with the practicality of Creative Commons to ensure that a 'virtual paper trail' is created. Let me elaborate, if I add a page to a specialised wiki (such as nswlearning2), and someone edits it, then their username (to maintain privacy) and the date, and a Creative Commons licence attribution share-alike is attached, then whoever then copies, edits or uses the information are compelled to maintain the attribution, thus ensuring that people will always be able to find the original source of the information by following the trail back, and see how it has developed! I believe this will encourage the free exchange of information, while maintaining some level of source reliability.

I would also like to see an active campaign by libraries to remove the stigma associated with wikis (such as wikipedia). By actively assessing the information on various entries, and editing them to ensure they are correct and meet referencing and style-guide standards, we can all improve this encyclopedia, and make it a more reliable source.

I have changed my views on wikis in the past weeks, thanks mainly to this NSW Public Libraries Learning 2.0 course. I realised that I would not be able to find information about my suburb, or the City I work for, or my Mayor in a standard print or online encyclopedia, because (lets be honest) why would they bother! There are thousands of 'little' places, people and things all over the world and they couldn't ensure that all were accounted for and then keep the entries maintained.

Three Wikis reviewed - and my ideas!

I really liked the SJCPL 'subject guide' wiki. I can see that it has great use in libraries, particularly if we are to make our virtual library as user-friendly and efficient as our physical library. I really liked the way it showed the relevant call numbers for each topic, as well as listing specific titles, and showing their covers (although I think that could be a copyright issue!).

I also looked at the Wisconsin Heritage Online (WHO) Wiki - but was less impressed. I thought it was great that a wiki was developed to encourage institutions and people in the Wisconsin area to digitise their collections and add them to the Online portal. However, I immediately saw the possibility of linking famous people or places in the area within the wiki so that the public could get an idea of the benefits of having an online heritage portal and cannot understand why this hasn't been developed. I also was unable find the link to 'collections' as the Learning 2.0 blog instructed. I did click on the online heritage portal, and searched the collection, but this was more like a catalogue than a wiki, it just showed the digital item with basic metadata, rather than allowing the user to find in depth information through links between the items. E.g. a basic search resulted in an article on Women's Suffrage in Wisconsin in the 19th Century. I would have like to have seen links to other articles about the women or places or dates relevant to this subject, rather than just a copy of the article with the author, title and publication details.

I then compared the WHO wiki with the 'mint museums' wiki. I found the mintwiki to be more what I was expecting from the WHO wiki - links to articles on current, past and future exhibitions, with the ability to print out PDF's to take with you to the museum. I would have like to have seen a history of the mint museum on the wiki, or information about its location and opening hours there too, but at least they offered the link to the library webpage where I presume you could find out this information. I suppose it is important to remember that wikis can be updated and revised at any time, so these criticisms may not be relevant as soon as I've posted this!

I have found this exercise of searching other wikis very useful. When I first heard about this (learning 2.0) course, I was excited by the possibilities of developing a local studies wiki - where the public could find out about personalities, places, dates and events that are important to our local area. Having seen these other wikis, I feel I will be able to develop a better wiki for our area and ensure it has enough information and is easy to use!

Apart from a local studies wiki, I think libraries can benefit from an 'faq' wiki, a 'subject guide' wiki, and a 'reader's advisory' wiki ("who else writes like" etc).