Wikis

I looked at two wikis: the BookLovers wiki (from the Princeton Public Library) and the SJCPL Subject Guides wiki (from the St Joseph's County Public Library system).

BookLovers Wiki

What a great idea to use a wiki for patrons to post book reviews! I initially was curious as to how libraries could use wikis, because they wouldn't be able to control the information posted. For example, if they were advertising a class, anyone could create and post information that said that the class had been cancelled, even if that wasn't true. After I read that some places can restrict content, I began to see how libraries could use this tool to post information about classes, library news etc. For example, on the BookLovers wiki, there is information about other "events" held at the library (i.e., "NoveList and Other Cool Tools for finding HOT Summer Reads" class). While the proprietors of the wiki may not permit patrons access information to updating class information, they seem to be really open to any and all book reviews patrons want to post. Of course they reserve the right not to post anything with offensive language, but it seems like they are posting anything they get, which really helps create a sense of community sharing in their summer reading program, as enhanced by this wiki.

Subject Guides Wiki
I really liked how this wiki is used as a supplement to the library's catalog. For each topic, there is an area that is devoted to "Our collection", and collection specific resources. There are also community links and information under the "Arts & Entertainment" link. I also think that like so many other public library-sponsored websites, this wiki has a lot of information that could be useful to researchers or users of information in general. For example, under the "Biography & Memoir" section, there is information that serves to define the differences between biographies, autobiographies, memoirs and journals / diaries. This information could be useful to anyone, one of the only problems would be is finding access to this information. For example, a patron in Frederick County, may not even be aware that there is a such a public library system as Saint Joseph's, and thus would not even know that this useful information is collocated in one place. However, I think public library systems in general could benefit from looking at other systems' wikis and seeing the type of information that is available. It would be neat to establish a nationwide public library system wiki to link all of these useful pieces of information. I wonder if that will ever be a possibility in the future?

I think these two wikis demonstrated how wikis can be used for specific things, like for promoting or providing a different dimension to a reading program, or for a supplement to a library catalog, or even the library's homepage. With the information about access to not only books in the collection, but also community resources and database links, I felt that the St. Joseph's wiki almost seemed like a pseudo main homepage for a library.