Wiki=quick!

Alert reader nolajazz pointed out that "wiki" is actually Hawaiian for "quick!"

A wiki wiki trip to Dictionary.com confirmed it:

Main Entry:	wiki
Part of Speech:	n
Definition:	a collaborative Web site set up to allow user editing and adding of content
Etymology:	1995; wiki wiki quick
Usage:	sometimes cap.*

*"wiki." Webster's New Millennium™ Dictionary of English, Preview Edition (v 0.9.7). Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. 10 Dec. 2008. <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/wiki>.

I missed it when I skimmed through Using Wikis to Create Online Communities yesterday, but it turns out, the tropical origin of wiki is covered there, as well. Sigh. Must learn not to speed read when tired. Oh well....

ON TO THE ASSIGNMENT!!!

Paging through the various library-oriented wikis was interesting.

I can certainly see the potential benefit to creating a conference wiki. Depending upon the structure of your conference, speakers could edit their presentation descriptions, upload handouts, etc. And (if allowed) conference-goers could provide commentary on sessions.

• Unfortunately, while the possibilities seem promising, the SDLA Conference wiki does not seem to have greatly benefited from a many-hands approach. The information on the wiki, and the structure itself, is fairly basic. Only a few page levels - no more than one might find a the usual conference site.
  

Speculating - I wonder if that's not because many of us SD librarians are a bit behind the curve when it comes to being brave and experimenting with things like wikis?

Perhaps the next conference wiki will show signs of more activity.

Wikis for libraries... better than a website, or just one more alternative? I don't know.

• The Bull Run Library wiki seems.... heavy on external links...? If this is the library's only web presence, that's okay, but if not... I found myself wondering, what's the point? If your wiki only announces events, or sends people away, then how is it really different from any other website? It doesn't really seem as if the folks at Bull Run are truly taking advantage of the tool's strengths.I think really in this case, the wiki just offers a different type of website, perhaps one more easily editable by multiple staff, and which doesn't require that the library have its own server.

In Which Wiki is Right for You? (SLJ, 5/1/07) Shonda Brisco states, "If you’ve never created a library Web page (and don’t intend to start learning HTML code anytime soon), but want your library to have a Web-presence, maybe it’s time to consider a library wiki."

That type of web-presence - for outward communication - seems to me like a stronger reason for a small library to start a wiki than enhancing staff communication - after all, if your staff numbers in the single digits and you can't manage to communicate in person, a wiki probably isn't going to help you much.

• On the other hand, many coming together to make a better whole - now that's a good reason for a wiki, especially if the community of contributors is active and interested. Pooling of information is what makes Library Success: a best practices wiki a worthwhile tag-it-in Delicious spot. I'm definitely finding some useful stuff in the IL-replated links, and there's a lot of detail I haven't had time to explore yet.

***************************

But ILL needs attention,
and this isn't supposed to be a book.
I'm going to sign off now and go ship some books.

Wiki-stuff

Lesson elements: Wikis in Plain English was easy to watch and understand.

The second lesson element, Using Wikis to Create Online Communities was not nearly so entertaining. Still stuffed with good information, though. (And not everything has to have clowns & hand-puppets, right?).

So now I have a better grasp of what a wiki is & does. Which is good, since it seems as if they're ever more prevalent in the library community. LexisNexis, for example, is wiki-fying their help pages.

To kick things off, they even offered prizes - Amazon gift certificates!! - to anyone who'd submit guides. And it's probably a mark of just how many of us are still uncomfortable with wikis that they had a hard time giving anything away!

And they're not alone. SDLN has started a wiki using PBwiki so that SD libraries can better share information and help one another. (And if you're an ILL librarian in SD, or know one, recommend they access & explore!) And of course, there's the (bane or blessing) massive Wikipedia that's threatening the existence of all of our lovely print encyclopedias and driving teachers everywhere to pull out their hair - LOL!

I've run out of day for my time today, so I'll have to get back to this later - I'm looking forward to exploring the recommended sites, and I'm already thinking of ways that a wiki could be useful. Of course, getting people to participate would be key....

(heads off muttering to self)

Wiki, wiki, wiki

Sounds like something you'd find on a tropical island, doesn't it? No, that's tiki, isn't it. Oh well....

Have to say, I've been looking forward to this lesson in particular. I'll be the first to confess, I'm not really sure exactly what a wiki is, exactly.

That said, I'm going to go view a couple of the videos in Lesson 9 and see if I can't figure out what it is I'm missing.