Thing #12 - Wikis

I've only been using a wiki for about 8 months, but I know just how handy they can be.  Since I'm with the Jail Library Group, and a bunch of different people running on very different schedules, all have to coordinate who is going into the jail library, and when, most of the collaboration is done through the wiki.  That way, we can separate all of the different systems, leave contact information and notices such as dates for new-book-processing parties, and make notes for the date and time that people are going in, or if they would like anyone to accompany them.  A blog or forum couldn't really lay anything out that effectively, and a proper website would require administrative access and know-how, among other complications, so a wiki is by far the best way to manage something like that.

Of course, the JLG wiki is only a single page, so it doesn't have any of the searching or browsing features that characterize most other wikis.  When you take things like that into account, though, I can see how a library could have a lot of use for a wiki, to organize things either for patrons or for staff (though, I have to admit, letting any patrons put anything onto or delete anything they wanted from a wiki could cause some trouble).  I especially liked the St. Joseph County Public Library wiki, which includes a lot more than just subject guides.  It's a great resource for patrons, and seems to essentially function as the library website, though a wiki is much easier to edit and update than an HTML-coded site.  As such, in that regard, it works pretty much as a What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get HTML editor, the main differences being 1) WYSIWYG editors give you a little more customization of layout, and 2) anyone who has ever browsed Wikipedia will be immediately familiar with the layout, and probably immediately comfortable using the wiki.  Pros and cons aside, I took an Information Architecture class last summer, where the final website could either be HTML hand-coded or created with a WYSIWYG editor; wikis weren't allowed for the project, but considering how well-done some of these library wikis are, I think they make perfectly legitimate websites.