The Wiki Page

Wikis can be thought of as interactive collaborative web pages. They have easy to use toolbars like the one above and allow users to edit pages easily.

Wikis can be used in a variety of manners to help facilitate communication, interaction, and teamwork.

One way a Wiki can be used in a library is as a staff Procedure's and Policies Wiki. We have just gotten ours up here at PCC and it is going well.

Wikis create a uniform transparent environment

The fact that the library system includes many physical locations provides a challenge to keep processes and procedures uniform. The Wiki provides a common ground for a multi-location library system. It will also aid in keeping processes and procedures consistent and accurate, as well as explain the decisions and reasoning behind these processes. More than one user will read the documents created by the group. Therefore, the team will be able to fix problems by either editing the document themselves, or by notifying a particular author about a change, or inaccuracy that must be fixed.

Wikis build community

A Wiki is a team project! It is DEPENDENT on the library team to update, edit, clarify, and comment on procedures and policies. By contributing in this manner, individual Staff members have a chance to showcase their expertise, and creativity in building the Wiki. This will only serve to strengthen cohesiveness, and the feeling of value to the team.

We are NOT just library staff—we are a library community!

Wikis free up time

Never replacing a human—one can refer questions to the Wiki because it is easy to use, and accurate. With different file formats available to help define, one can watch a camtasia video, open an excel file, or read a document in PDF format, all in order to help the user understand the subject. The user can then also make comments about how effective or ineffective the information is (in a constructive manner of course!).

Wikis are easy to use

One can learn the basics in a short tutorial or training session. Iconic, and windows style toolbars and tools help users understand how to use this resource quickly and effectively.
Wiki pages are easy to fix—that is to say, one can restore a page that has been edited wrongly, quite easily. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to use a Wiki. The tool bar and the help pages will be all you need, and in a pinch you can ask for help.

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