2. What you will learn
What a wiki is
What wikis are good for, what they’re not so good
for
How libraries and other groups are successfully
using wikis
How to get started with wikis
Tips on developing a successful wiki
3. What is a wiki?
Content management system
Allows people to collaboratively develop a Web
site without any tech-savvy
Wiki = quick (in Hawaiian)
All community members can add to or edit the
work of others
4. Wiki background
Ward Cunningham and the Portland Pattern
Repository
Wikipedia
Conference wikis, fan wikis, wiki knowledgebases
Wikis in the library! Still often controlled access.
Organizations jump on the wiki bandwagon
5. Wiki Structure
All wikis start off as a single blank page
Pages are created and connected by hyperlinks
No ownership of pages; anyone can change the
work of others
6. Wiki Components
Pages community members can add to or edit
(example)
Discussion area for each page
List of all of the changes made to a particular page
(version control)
List of all changes made to all pages.
7. Wiki Syntax
Ways to format text, change color, create links,
create tables, etc.
Wikipedia editor’s guide
Not difficult to learn, but different
Differences for each wiki
WYSIWYG makes for a flatter learning curve
8. Wikis vs. Blogs
• No one owns • A person owns
content their posts
• No specific • Organized in
organization reverse chron.
(hyperlinks) order
• Anyone can edit • Only author can
other people’s work edit their own
A person owns work (others can
their post comment)
9. Wikis vs. Blogs
• Perpetual work in • Posts are
progress permanent
• Good for • Good for
collaborative group disseminating
work informaton/
starting a
dialogue
10. Why wiki?
Easy to use
Web-based
Anyone can make changes
Version control
Findability
Many free and open-source wikis
Flexible and extensible
11. Why not wiki?
Too open (trust issues)
Concerns about ownership of content
Disorganized
Vandalism and spam
Wikis aren't for everyone. If control is a major issue with
the site you're developing, then a wiki may not be right
for your project.
14. How libraries can use wikis with
their patrons
Community wiki
Subject guide wiki
Wiki as courseware or Web site
Wiki for collaborative learning
Wiki for capitalizing on the collective
intelligence
15. Community wikis
RocWiki (Rochester, NY)
Davis Wiki (Davis, CA)
Arbor Wiki (Ann Arbor, MI)
PGHWiki (Pittsburgh, PA)
A good start: Mac Library Experience
16. Subject guides
Ohio University Library’s Biz Wiki
St. Joseph County Public Library
Subject Guides
Florida State University Subject
Guides
17. Wiki as Website and courseware
University of South Carolina Aiken
Library Web site
Bemidji State University eRhetoric
course wiki
English 10 Literature Wiki
18. Wiki for collaborative
learning
• Space for group projects
• Curriculum topic wiki
• Part of research class
• Edit the wikipedia!
• Stimulate class discussions
• Student space to build portfolio of work
19. Capitalizing on the collective
intelligence
• Collaborative note-taking
• Collaborative study guide
• Collaboratively-developed course guides
- Plymouth Regional High School Library
• Book reviews - Princeton Public Library’s
Book Lovers Wiki
20. How librarians can
use wikis
Staff Intranet
Collaborative document editing
Collaboratively-developed manual
Conference wikis
Knowledgebase
Planning space for conferences
21. Wiki as Intranet for info
sharing
Most are behind the firewall or are password
protected
Albany County Public Library Staff Wiki
Lakeview High School NCA Wiki
22. Collaborative document
editing
ZohoWriter
Google Docs and Spreadsheets
You could even just use something like
PBWiki!
23. Collaboratively-developed manual
Print manuals are really hard to update!
Antioch University New England Library
Staff Training and Support Wiki
24. Conference wikis
ALA 2005 Chicago Wiki
ALA 2006 New Orleans Wiki
IL 2007 Wiki
Wikimania 2006
25. Wiki as professional
knowledgebase
Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki
CGCS Library Media Supervisors’ Network
Wiki
26. Planning space for
conferences
Hard to plan a conference with people
from all over the place.
Five Weeks to a Social Library
BarCamp
PodCon
29. Wiki Tips: Software
Popular options for wiki hosted on your
server
MediaWiki
PmWiki
Twiki
Confluence ($$$)
30. Wiki Tips: Software (cont’d)
Popular Options for wikis hosted by
the software company
PBWiki
WetPaint
SeedWiki
Wikispaces
31. Wiki Tips: Software (cont’d)
If you want control, no ads, etc., host the wiki
on your server.
If you don’t have server space, need the wiki
for a small time-limited project, or are
worried about maintaining a new tech, go
with a hosted wiki.
Check out the WikiMatrix when thinking
about which software to use
32. Choosing software: What
to consider
Programming language
Ease of installation
Security
Permissioning
Spam prevention
Ease of use
Cost
Version control
33. What to consider (cont’d)
Syntax
Ability to hold discussions
RSS
Ability to change look
Extensions
Trajectory of development/support of
development
34. Wiki Tips: Seeding the wiki
No one wants to add to an empty wiki
Also, people often don’t know what to add
Add some content to the major categories before
going live
Creating an organizational scheme will prevent
orphan links and chaos
35. Wiki Tips: Documentation
Wikis need lots of info for novice users
What is a wiki
What can you do with this wiki
How to edit the wiki
FAQ
Whom to contact for more help
If possible, offer trainings (not everyone learns from
reading a list of instructions)
36. Wiki Tips: Content
development
Do lots of marketing
If possible, offer trainings
Offer incentives
Don’t do it all yourself!
Give the wiki a grassroots feel, make it welcoming.
37. Wiki Tips: Management
Security
Should you require registration?
Dealing with spam
Install spam-killing plugins or blacklists
Bad Behavior plugin.
Monitor the wiki several times a day
Get to know and love RSS
Find dedicated helpers!!!
38. How to deal with posts
you don’t like
Guidelines
Limit to on-topic posts
Take a note from the Wikipedia’s policies and
guidelines
Get a group of volunteers to patrol a public wiki
If you need to delete something - use discussion area
to explain why things were deleted.
39. Questions?
Comments?
Meredith Farkas
mgfarkas at gmail dot com
http://meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress/
AIM: librarianmer
Links and more resources at http://
meredithfarkas.wetpaint.com/