How to Build and Use a Wiki in Your Library

Are you thinking about taking the plunge into the world of net 2. with your library and generating a wiki? I not too long ago put collectively a prosperous wiki for my college library and so I would like to share some good results guidelines for how to do it successfully.

1. Which wiki platform are you going to use? This is essential simply because there are hundreds of them out there and they all vary in terms of ease of use, price tag, and setup as properly as the potential to manage who can view your wiki as nicely as who can post to your wiki.

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

3. What is dark web links for your wiki? To communicate amongst library employees? To communicate with your patrons? To let your patrons communicate with every other?

4. What content material are you going to include on your wiki? Just hyperlinks to other pages on your library web internet site, a searchable library catalog, facts about library classes and events, well known books, news and announcements or other things?

5. Do you want to spend for a wiki service or do you want to use a no cost wiki?

six. Is there a tech help particular person readily available to assistance you install 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 a lot easier to use and retain up with on a common website, however, you cannot just place it up and under no circumstances commit time working on it.

7. It also helps if you can create some wiki precise content. In our case we developed subject pages for each of the key subjects taught at our college and included hyperlinks to databases, magazines, books, ebooks, specialized encyclopedias and sites for every subject. We also have our library news and policies amongst other items of interest to our patrons on our wiki. You have to have to give your patrons a cause to read the wiki and to use it.

8. Wikis are a single of the technologies of the future and as extra and far more libraries and other organizations begin using them, it is to your advantage to find out how to use 1 and to decide if it is appropriate for your library.

Leave a Comment