This document summarizes wikis and how they can be used by libraries. It discusses what wikis are, how they differ from blogs, and why they are useful tools for collaboration and knowledge management. It provides examples of how libraries have successfully used wikis for community projects, subject guides, websites, and conferences. It concludes with tips for developing and maintaining a successful wiki, including choosing software, seeding content, user education, content development, and moderation strategies.

1. Wikis Basics, Tools and Strategies Meredith Farkas October 28, 2007 Internet Librarian

2. What you will learn What a wiki is What wikis are good for, what they’re not so good for How libraries and other groups are successfully using wikis How to get started with wikis Tips on developing a successful wiki

3. Who am I? Meredith Farkas Distance Learning Librarian at Norwich University (VT). Author - Social Software in Libraries . Columnist – “Technology in Practice” column in American Libraries . Blogger - Information Wants to be Free Wiki manager - Library Success , ALA 2005 and 2006 , etc.

4. My experience with wikis Looking for a way to collect knowledge for ALA Annual 2005. A Website would only collect my knowledge ALA Chicago 2005 Wiki Amazing community formed around the wiki!

5. Library Success Wiki Where does a new librarian go to get ideas and learn from other people's successes? Library Success Wiki: Designed to collect best practices, good ideas, useful articles and links, etc. Site has developed a diverse community of individuals who add content in their areas of interest.

6. Other wikis I’ve created ALA 2006 New Orleans Wiki CIL 2006 Wiki IL 2006 Wiki KM World 2006 Wiki Buying and Selling eContent Wiki IL 2007 Wiki Many other personal wikis for planning, internal wiki at work, etc.

7. What is a wiki? Content management system Allows people to collaboratively develop a Web site without any tech-savvy Wiki = quick (in Hawaiian) All community members can add to or edit the work of others

8. Wiki background Ward Cunningham and the Portland Pattern Repository Wikipedia Conference wikis, fan wikis, wiki knowledgebases Wikis in the library! Still often controlled access. Organizations jump on the wiki bandwagon

9. Wiki Structure All wikis start off as a single blank page Pages are created and connected by hyperlinks No ownership of pages; anyone can change the work of others

10. Wiki Components Pages community members can add to or edit ( example ) Discussion area for each page List of all of the changes made to a particular page (version control) List of all changes made to all pages.

11. Wiki Syntax Ways to format text, change color, create links, create tables, etc. Wikipedia editor’s guide Not difficult to learn, but different Differences for each wiki WYSIWYG is the future

12. Wikis vs. Blogs No one owns content No specific organization (hyperlinks) Anyone can edit other people’s work A person owns their post Organized in reverse chron. order Only author can edit their own work (others can comment)

13. Wikis vs. Blogs Perpetual work in progress Good for collaborative group work Posts are permanent Good for disseminating info/starting a dialogue

14. Why wiki? Easy to use Web-based Anyone can make changes Version control Findability Many free and open-source wikis Flexible and extensible

15. Knowledge management (KM) All organizations want to make the best use of organizational knowledge Most are really bad at it Wiki is a great KM tool

16. Wiki = quick No editing in Dreamweaver, no FTP-ing into the server. No waiting for the Webmaster to update your page. Different people can be responsible for different content areas

17. Collaboration Wikis are a great way to get patrons/colleagues to participate in building a Web space Resource guides Conference Book reviews Area guides You can learn a lot from your patrons and colleagues!

18. Why not wiki? Too open (trust issues) Concerns about ownership of content Disorganized Vandalism and spam Wikis aren't for everyone. If control is a major issue with the site you're developing, then a wiki may not be right for your project.

19. Questions?

20. Wikis in Practice

21. How libraries can use wikis with their patrons Community wiki Subject guide wiki Wiki as courseware Wiki as Web site Wiki for capitalizing on the collective intelligence

22. Community wikis RocWiki (Rochester, NY) Davis Wiki (Davis, CA) Arbor Wiki (Ann Arbor, MI) PGHWiki (Pittsburgh, PA)

23. Wikis that build community Tax Almanac Mandriva Club

24. Subject guides Ohio University Library’s Biz Wiki St. Joseph County Public Library Subject Guides Florida State University Subject Guides

25. Wiki as Website and courseware University of South Carolina Aiken Library Web site Bemidji State University eRhetoric course wiki

26. Capitalizing on the collective intelligence Resource guides and book reviews ProductWiki wikiXbox360 Princeton Public Library’s Book Lovers Wiki Wyoming Authors Wiki

27. How librarians can use wikis Staff Intranet Collaborative document editing Collaboratively-developed manual Conference wikis Knowledgebase Planning space for conferences

28. Wiki as Intranet for info sharing Most are behind the firewall or are password protected.

29. Collaborative document editing ZohoWriter Google Docs and Spreadsheets You could even just use something like PBWiki !

30. Collaboratively-developed manual Print manuals are really hard to update! Antioch University New England Library Staff Training and Support Wiki

31. Conference wikis ALA 2005 Chicago Wiki ALA 2006 New Orleans Wiki IL 2007 Wiki Wikimania 2006

32. Wiki as professional knowledgebase Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki Library Instruction Wiki Qwiki : Quantum Physics Wiki The New PR Wiki

33. Planning space for conferences Hard to plan a conference with people from all over the place. Five Weeks to a Social Library BarCamp PodCon

34. Wiki Tips How to develop and maintain a successful wiki

35. Wiki Tips: Software Popular options for wiki hosted on your server MediaWiki PmWiki Twiki MoinMoin XWiki

36. Wiki Tips: Software (cont’d) Popular Options for wikis hosted by the software company PBWiki WetPaint SeedWiki If you want control, no ads, etc., host the wiki on your server. If you don’t have server space, need the wiki for a small time-limited project, or are scared of maintaining a new tech, go with a hosted wiki. Check out the WikiMatrix when thinking about which software to use

37. Choosing software: What to consider Programming language Ease of installation Security Permissioning Spam prevention Ease of use Cost Version control

38. What to consider (cont’d) Syntax/WYSIWYG Ability to hold discussions RSS Ability to change look Extensions Trajectory of development/support of development

39. Wiki Tips: Seeding the wiki No one wants to add to an empty wiki Also, people often don’t know what to add Add some content to the major categories before going live Creating an organizational scheme will prevent orphan links and chaos

40. Wiki Tips: Education Wikis need lots of info for novice users What is a wiki What can you do with this wiki How to edit the wiki FAQ Whom to contact for more help Training is important

41. Wiki Tips: Content development Do lots of marketing If possible, offer trainings Partner with groups/people related to your mission Don’t do it all yourself! Give the wiki a grassroots feel, make it welcoming.

42. Wiki Tips: Management Security Should you require registration? Dealing with spam Install spam-killing plugins or blacklists Bad Behavior plugin. Monitor the wiki several times a day Get to know and love RSS Find lots of dedicated helpers!!!

43. How to deal with posts you don’t like Guidelines Limit to on-topic posts Take a note from the Wikipedia’s policies and guidelines Get a committed group of volunteers to patrol a public wiki If you need to delete something - use discussion area to explain why things were deleted.

44. Questions? Comments? Meredith Farkas mgfarkas at gmail dot com http://meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress/ AIM: librarianmer Links and more resources at http://meredithfarkas.wetpaint.com/