How to Create and Use a Wiki in Your Library

 Are you thinking about taking the plunge into the world of web 2.0 with your library and creating a wiki? I recently put together a successful wiki for my college library and so I would like to share some success tips for how to do it successfully.

1. Which wiki platform are you going to use? This is crucial because there are hundreds of them out there and they all vary in terms of ease of The hidden wiki link , price, and setup as well as the ability to control who can view your wiki as well as who can post to your wiki.

2. Do you want to use your wiki exclusively as a method of organizing and changing material on your website? Or do you want to use the wiki to allow your patrons to interact with each other?

3. What is the exact purpose for your wiki? To communicate between library employees? To communicate with your patrons? To let your patrons communicate with each other?

4. What content are you going to include on your wiki? Just links to other pages on your library web site, a searchable library catalog, information about library classes and events, popular books, news and announcements or other items?

5. Do you want to pay for a wiki service or do you want to use a free wiki?

6. Is there a tech support person available to help you install your wiki and to assist 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 maintaining a wiki? A wiki is a lot easier to use and keep up with on a regular website, however, you can't just put it up and never spend time working on it.

7. It also helps if you can develop some wiki specific content. In our case we created subject pages for each of the major subjects taught at our college and included links to databases, magazines, books, ebooks, specialized encyclopedias and websites for each subject. We also have our library news and policies amongst other items of interest to our patrons on our wiki. You need to give your patrons a reason to read the wiki and to use it.