How to Create and Use a Wiki in Your Library

Are you considering about taking the plunge into the planet of internet 2. with your library and producing a wiki? I recently place with each other a prosperous wiki for my college library and so I would like to share some achievement suggestions for how to do it effectively.

1. Which wiki platform are you going to use? This is vital because there are hundreds of them out there and they all vary in terms of ease of use, value, and setup as well as the capability to control who can view your wiki as effectively as who can post to your wiki.

2. Do you want to use your wiki exclusively as a system of organizing and altering material on your web-site? Or do you want to use the wiki to permit your patrons to interact with every single other?

3. What is the exact purpose for your wiki? To communicate among library workers? To communicate with your patrons? To let your patrons communicate with each and every other?

four. What content are you going to contain on your wiki? Just links to other pages on your library internet internet site, a searchable library catalog, facts about library classes and events, well known books, news and announcements or other products?

five. Do you want to spend for a wiki service or do you want to use a free wiki?

six. Is there a tech assistance person offered to help you set up your wiki and to help with some periodic maintenance? If not, do you have a librarian who can take charge of the wiki and its updates and the technological side of preserving a wiki? A wiki is a lot less difficult to use and keep up with on a frequent web page, however, you can’t just place it up and never commit time operating on it.

7. hidden wiki aids if you can create some wiki distinct content. In our case we developed topic pages for each of the important subjects taught at our college and incorporated hyperlinks to databases, magazines, books, ebooks, specialized encyclopedias and internet websites for every topic. We also have our library news and policies amongst other products of interest to our patrons on our wiki. You require to give your patrons a reason to study the wiki and to use it.

eight. Wikis are one particular of the technologies of the future and as much more and much more libraries and other organizations start using them, it is to your benefit to discover how to use one particular and to choose if it is ideal for your library.

Author: protros