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Wikis and Libraries: A Winning Combination
Darlene FichterUniversity of [email protected] April 18. 2006
Darlene Fichter
Photo by: rolobeetle Some rights reserved.
Overview
Collaboration & communicationWikis
– How do they work– What are some of the benefits– Blogs and wikis, what to use when
Questions What is your primary role at your organization?
Reference/Instructional Librarian Library ITS (web developer, systems librarian) Library manager Collections or Cataloguing or Digital Projects Other
Are you interested in using wikis for: Subject pages Internal project or team work Documentation Personal web publishing Conference Intranet Don’t know
Do you contribute to a wiki? Does your organization use:
Blogs Wikis RSS feeds
Poll: Committees and TeamsHow many groups do you belong to?
None one to two three to five More than 5How do you share information?
– Email– Mailing list– Shared file server– BBS– IM
What are some of the limitations?
What if …
Reduce email overloadHave an archive of the work done to dateBuild a knowledge base auto-magicallyHave an easy way to write reports,
documents, policies, and procedures together
Technologies Enabling Online Collaboration
Dozens:– Discussion forums– Email– Instant messaging– Newsgroups– Webcasts– Web conferencing
– Weblogs– Team rooms– Text messaging/wireless– RSS– Wiki– Expertise location– FOAF
What is a “Wiki”?
Web application invented by Ward Cunningham in 1994 that allows anyone to add content and anyone to edit it. “It’s a tool for collaboration, really, we don’t know
quite what it is but it’s a fun way of communicating asynchronously across the network”.
Wiki means “quick” in Hawaiian
Wiki Characteristics
Intended to be simple so you can focus on the writing, not the mechanics and syntax
No HTML know-how required
Wikis: Collections of Pages
Main Page Contact Us Electronic Virtual
edit edit editedit
Wiki pages look like web pagesAnyone with a web browser can read a wiki site
Illustrations adapted from Guillaume du Gardier. What is a wiki? June 2, 2005
Click, Write and Save
edit editsave
...KMWorld 2005
…KMWorld 2005
Anyone with a web browser can edit a wiki siteAnyone can undo any change at any time
Make a new page by typing the name in CamelCase, aka WikiName
Creating New Pages
Title
… NewName …
edit edit
NewName
Click on any WikiName to see pages that link to it
Wiki Design PrinciplesOpenness and trust
– if a page is incomplete or inaccurate anyone can edit it Incremental
– pages can cite other pages, even those not yet writtenObservable
– you can see the changes being madeOrganic
– site structure is up to everyone, and it will evolve and changeMore principles…
Wiki Design Principleshttp://www.c2.com/cgi/wiki?WikiDesignPrinciples
Openness and Trust
Wiki Examples: Wikipedia
www.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia: Recent Changes
Time Lapse – London Bombing
http://thelastminute.typepad.com/blog/2005/07/the_day_citizen.html
Wikipedia: Viewing History
Wikipedia: Talk Page
Wiki Gardeners
Person who goes around tidying up the wiki, pruning, editing, organizing, and cleaning up
Usually liked and respected
On a library wiki, you might want to assign this role.
Wikis: Professional Knowledge Repositories
http://www.libsuccess.org/
Wikis: Conference
http://cil2006.pbwiki.com/changes.php?pageID=1/
Library Web Site: Wiki Subject Guide
http://www.library.ohiou.edu/subjects/bizwiki/index.php/Main_Page
SCJPL: Subject Guides
http://www.libraryforlife.org/subjectguides/index.php/Main_Page
SCJPL: Subject Guides
http://www.libraryforlife.org/subjectguides/index.php/Pets
SCJPL: Discussion Pages
http://www.libraryforlife.org/subjectguides/index.php/Talk:Crafts
Coralville Public Library: Let’s Write!
http://www.coralvillepubliclibrary.org/warm.htm
Library Web Site Built With a Wiki
http://library.usca.edu/
Tour: Library Wikis
Internal uses– Staff Intranet– Projects– Event planning– IT documentation– Helpdesk
Library Intranet
http://wiki.lib.umn.edu/
Library Intranet
http://wiki.lib.uconn.edu/wiki/Main_Page
Library Information Technology Services Wiki
http://wiki.library.vanderbilt.edu/
Project/Committee
http://www.seedwiki.com/wiki/b-team/
Internal Wikis in Libraries
Collaborative writing (projects, teams developing procedures, policies, plans)
Meeting notes and reportsShared knowledge repository
Simple Case Study: Event Planning
Hosted Wiki: Jotspot
www.jotspot.com
WYSIWYG Editor
What Pages Have Changed?
See What Changed
Single Page or Side by Side
Wiki (Jotspot) Anatomy: FeaturesAttach a File
Import Word
Emails
Send an Email
Make a comment
Inviteusers
Changesvia RSS
Search
Event Planning and Support
http://coppul.jotspot.com (Password protected)
Wiki Reactions
Well, I wasn't sure about that wiki (sounded like something from Star Wars), but I decided to try it out. It is fabulous! Every conference should have one.
Gail Curry, UNBC
Conference / Wiki Support
Participants signed up for wifi, dine-arounds, connected with each other before the event
Shared notes during the presentation and uploaded slides
Evaluated the workshop
Wiki Roadmap*
Install wiki software on web server Plan rollout and content Build the initial structurePopulate initial content with early adopters Initial rollout with smaller group Train and coach users Do not underestimate inertia and time
*Peter Theony, Wiki Based Collaborationhttp://twiki.org/cgi-bin/view/Codev/TWikiPresentation17Feb2005
Build the initial structure
Practical TipsHave a champion
– New way of “thinking”, paradigm shift from Intranet, webmaster or CMS (content management system)
Choose the right features:– Attach files– Access control– Version control– Ease of use: make sure “add a page” is self evident– Match look and feel– Alert and post via email to wiki
Tools to Help You Choose
Wiki Matrix– http://www.wikimatrix.org/
Emma Tonkin’s charts in – Making the Case for a Wiki. Ariadne, January
2005http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue42/tonkin/
Weblogs and Wikis Face Off
Photo Credit: Pascal Vuylsteker http://www.flickr.com/photos/pvk/
CC Attribution 2.5
Wikis Weblogs Group voice
Unstructured, organic
Anyone edits
Fluid medium: change any time
Better management: versions, rollback and change log, syndicate changes
Less familiar
Individual voice
Default is by date, reverse chronological
Anyone comments
Post medium like email (comment, reply, comment, …)
Edits aren’t tracked usually, new items are syndicated
More familiar
Wiki Brainstorm
Think about collaborative/team activities in your organization and library.
Identify 2 or 3 areas where a wiki web would help with collaboration.
Identify the “biggest obstacles” and how you might overcome them.
Wiki Summary
Wikis help support collaborationTools are simple, quick and inexpensiveThey belong in our collaboration toolboxOur workplaces are diverse
– Diverse users– Diverse needs– Diverse software choices
More Resources
Wiki Bibliography & Links– http://library.usask.ca/~fichter/wiki/
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