Wikis & Wikispaces

The most commonly accessed and used wiki is Wikipedia. The name comes from “wiki” which is Hawaiian for “fast and swift.” Wikis are collaborative spaces with no defined owner (unlike blogs) in which many people edit and create information, and are ever-changing to adapt to new information and the new needs of the wikispace/wiki users.

Popular wikis:

• Wikipedia – As mentioned above, this is an open wiki, in which all users are allowed to add/edit information and is one of the more popular wikis on the Internet.
• Scholarpedia – This is a closed wiki, which requires approval to add/edit information and entries.
• Medipedia – This is a resource for medical patients. The entries are credible information, written by doctors, but are intended to be used by the average Joe.
• Chemipedia – Created by chemists and scientists to be used by students and professionals within that area.

      Wikis in libraries:

       

       Farkas at www.libsuccess.org gives examples of the ways wikis can be utlilized within libraries, i.e.:

• Collaboration among libraries - (e.g. The Library Instruction Wiki) This is a wiki set up to support library instruction. It encompasses all types of libraries, and encourages contribution from professionals and enthusiasts alike. Anyone can edit this wiki, as long as the information is relevant to library instruction.
• Collaboration among library staff - (e.g. The University of Connecticut Libraries' Staff Wiki) This type of wiki can serve as a quick reference for commonly asked questions, user manuals, instructions for computer operations. Only library staff can edit this type of wiki.
• Collaboration among library staff and patrons - (e.g. the St. Joseph County Public Library Subject Guides) This type of wiki can serve as a collection of resources for public consumption, and is usually professional in tone with the appearance of a regular web page (images, content structure, etc.) Only library staff can edit this type of wiki.
• Collaboration among patrons - (e.g. Wiki WorldCat) This type of wiki can allow users to add book reviews, can serve as a subject guide/pathfinder. Library staff and patrons can edit this type of wiki.

Possible Weaknesses of Wikis:

• Credibility - without credibility users have no reason to need/want information from a particular wiki. 
• What are the credentials of the person creating/editing the information?
• Is the information accurate/correct?
• What resources are used to gather this information? Is it a scholarly source (journals, etc.), or something non-credible (like a blog). 
• Accessibility - If users have problems with technological literacies, or are unable to access, navigate, and contribute to the wiki, the wiki will not thrive and grow its information.
• Do users know how to access the wiki?
• Do users know how to navigate the wiki?
• Do users know how to edit the wiki? 

      Possible Strengths of Wikis:

• Community - Users can form a sense of community with others who share their interest for certain topics covered within a wiki.
• New Ideas - New ideas and research can be presented to the world via wikis, which can help get conversations started that influence change.
• Globalization - Users from all over the world can create and edit wikis.
• Freedom - anyone can edit wikis (with proper approval)
• Editability - Wikis have the ability to be reverted back to previous versions, which protects against vandalism.
• Flexibility - Structure is fluid within wikis, they can be implemented in a variety of ways.

 

      Ultimately, each library has a different way in which they want to implement information sharing within their institutions. Wikispaces gives libraries a new way to develop dialogue, and dialogue is the way libraries develop their services. With new technologies like this, development becomes a little easier, and a lot more global.