Quest 9 Wikis

In the past, I have used Wikipedia as a last resort. I would never use it or suggest it be used in a research paper due to its’ unreliability as to the information’s source. Ironically, a good place to get articles discussing editing on Wikipedia is from Wikipedia on Wikiscanner at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WikiScanner. Wikiscanner is a tool created to search for the editors of Wikipedia articles. Here is the problem with Wikipedia: many companies, politicians, and famous people edit their entries to remove anything negative. The journal Wired also has a list of edits at http://wired.reddit.com/wikidgame.
Ok, enough about Wikipedia. I definitely can see our library use Wikis for pathfinders like St. Joseph County Public Library system. I search on cooking. The book jackets were helpful. Also, I liked the fact that the suggestions linked to their catalog. The U.S. government gave links the various government web sites. This use of pathfinders is a good homework helper.
Once again I can see us using Wikis for book clubs and book reviews like Princeton Public Library does on Book Lovers Wiki. I liked the star system of rating books. I also liked the read more about the author link to biographical material. This is a good way to share with others ones favorite books.
All right, I have to admit that I spent the most time at Library Success since this site is for librarians by librarians. First, I took a look at the weeding section. This section gave some good tips on what and when to weed. Next I looked at the services for teens, since I am DOR’s YA librarian. Under Library 2.0 Services to Teens, I found examples of MySpace pages. I loved looking at others YA pages. When I am ready, I will add DOR’S anime club page to the list. Since, John’s Island YA page is listed, I now have them as my friend on DOR’S page.
Another interesting use for Wikis is for a calendar of events and for library news. I like the fact that the library public can be interactive with the library, but library Wikis do have to be monitored just like library blogs. One would not want offensive, derogatory, or inflammatory comments on a library’s site. It would also be a good idea to have a disclaimer about the accuracy of patron’s contributions.