wiki preconference computers in libraries

Wikis: Basics, Tools and Strategies Meredith Farkas Computers in Libraries What you will learn •What a wiki is •What wikis are good for; what wikis are not good for •How libraries and other groups are successfully using wikis •How to get started with wikis •Tips on developing a successful wiki Who am I? •Meredith Farkas • Head of Instructional Initiatives at Norwich University (VT). Adjunct faculty, San Jose State University • Author - Social Software in Libraries • Columnist - “Technology in Practice” in American Libraries • Blogger - Information Wants to be Free • Wiki manager - Library Success, ALA Chicago 2005, CIL2008, etc. My experience with wikis •Looking at a way to collect knowledge knowledge for ALA Annual 2005 •A website would only collect my •ALA Chicago 2005 Wiki •Amazing community formed around the wiki Library Success Wiki • Where does a new librarian go to get ideas and learn from other people’s successes? best practices, good ideas, useful articles and links, etc. of individuals who add content in their areas of interest. • Library Success Wiki: Designed to collect • Site has developed a diverse community Other wikis I’ve created • ALA 2006 New Orleans • CIL2006, CIL2007, CIL2008 • IL2006, CIL2007 • Buying and Selling eContent 2007, 2008 • Norwich University Research Guides • Many other personal wikis for planning, etc. What is a wiki? •Content management system •Allows people to collaboratively develop a website without any techsavvy •Wiki=quick (in Hawaiian) •All community members can add to or edit the work of others Wiki background • Ward Cunningham and the Portland Pattern Repository • Wikipedia • Conference wikis, fan wikis, wiki knowledgebases access. • Wikis in the library! Still often controlled • Organizations jump on the wiki bandwagon Wiki structure •All wikis start off as a blank page •Pages are created and connected by hyperlinks •No ownership of pages (in theory); anyone can change the work of others Wiki components •Pages community members can add to or edit (example) •Discussion area for each page •List of all the changes made to a particular page (version control) •List of all changes made to all pages Wiki syntax •Ways to format text, change color, create links, create tables, etc. •Wikipedia editor’s guide •Not difficult to learn, but different •WYSIWYG integrated into lots of wiki platforms Wikis vs. Blogs • No one owns content • A person owns their post • Anyone can edit other people’s work • Only author can edit their own work (others can comment) • No specific organization (hyperlinks) • Organized in reverse chronological order Wikis vs. Blogs • Perpetual work in • Posts are progress permanent • Good for collaborative group work • Good for disseminating info/ starting a dialog Why wiki? • Easy to use • Web-based • Anyone can make changes • Version control • Findability • Many free and open-source options • Flexible and extensible Knowledge management •All organizations want to make the •Most are really bad at it •Wiki is a great KM tool best use of organizational knowledge Wiki = quick •No editing in Dreamweaver, no need to FTP into the server update your page •No waiting for your webmaster to •Different people can be responsible for different content areas Collaboration • Wikis are a great way to get patrons/colleagues to participate in building a web space • You can learn a lot from your patrons and colleagues • Resource guides • Conferences • Book reviews • Area Guides Why not wiki? •Too open (trust issues) •Concerns about ownership of content •Disorganized •Vandalism and spam (in open wikis) •Wikis aren’t for everyone. If control is a major issue with the site you’re developing, then a wiki might not be right for your project Wikis in Practice How libraries can use wikis with their patrons •Community wiki •Subject guide wiki •Wiki as website •Wiki for capitalizing on the collective intelligence Community wikis •Roc Wiki (Rochester, NY) •Davis Wiki (Davis, CA) •Arbor Wiki (Ann Arbor, MI) •A good start: Mac Library Experience •A great start: Stevens County Rural Library District Wiki (WA) Wikis that build community •Wikipedia •Tax Almanac Subject guides •Ohio University Library’s Biz Wiki •Norwich University Research Guides •St. Joseph County Public Library Subject Guides Wiki as website •University of South Carolina Aiken Library •English 10 Wiki •Plymouth Regional High School Library Capitalizing on the collective intelligence •Resource guides and book reviews •ProductWiki •Princeton Public Library’s Book Lovers Wiki •AP World History Study Guide •Holocaust Wiki Project How librarians can use wikis •Staff intranet •Collaborative document editing •Collaboratively-developed manual •Conference wikis •Knowledgebase •Planning space for conferences Wiki is intranet for information sharing •Most are behind the firewall or are password protected. Wiki •Albany County Public Library Staff •Memphis Public Library Wiki •Lakeview High School NCA Wiki •ZohoWriter •Google Docs and Spreadsheets •You could even use something like PBWiki Collaborative document editing •Durham County Library Strategic Plan wiki •Print manuals are really hard to update Collaborativelydeveloped manual •Antioch University New England •North Metro Technical College Library Library Staff Training and Support Wiki Conference wikis •ALA 2005 Chicago Wiki •ALA 2006 New Orleans Wiki •CIL2008 Wiki •Wikimania 2006 Wiki for professional knowledge sharing •Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki •Library Instruction Wiki •Michigan Libraries Wiki Wiki Tips: How to develop and maintain a successful wiki Wiki tips: Software •Popular options for a wiki hosted on your server • MediaWiki • PmWiki • Twiki • DokuWiki • DekiWiki •Popular options for wikis hosted by the software company Wiki tips: Software (cont’d) • PBWiki • WetPaint • SeedWiki • Wikispaces • Wikia Wiki tips: Software (cont’d) • If you want control, no ads, etc., host the wiki on your own server • If you don’t have server space, need the • Check out the WikiMatrix when thining about which software to use wiki for a small, time-limited project, or don’t want to maintain new tech, go with a hosted wiki Choosing software: What to consider •Programming language •Ease of installation •Permissioning •Spam prevention •Ease of use •Cost • Version control • Syntax/WYSIWYG • Ability to hold discussions • RSS • Ability to change look • Extensions • Trajectory of development/support of development When wikis won’t work: 10 questions to ask before Full Adoption (Suarez) • from http://blogs.ittoolbox.com/km/elsua/archives/when-wikiswont-work-10-questions-to-ask-before-full-adoption-18809 • • • • “Is a wiki the best technology for what I am seeking to accomplish? Is my community cohesive and focused enough to be able to work together? Am I asking my community to create a universal truth based on tangible facts? Is my community going to be able to agree on these facts? • • • • • • Is my community both knowledgeable and interested about the subject of the wiki? Does my team/community have the necessary resources to support and facilitate the participation on the wiki? Is the team/community capable of maintaining the wiki with a robust enough infrastructure? Do team/community members trust each other good enough to be able to update content on top of each other’s content without risking the quality of the knowledge shared? Will the team/community provide the necessary education and training materials on how to effectively make use of the wiki for that specific purpose? And, finally, the killer question: can the team/community perform that task at hand with the same quality and participation using other tools than a wiki? If so, why don’t you use whichever of those tools?” Understand the culture of your population •WikiPatterns •Looks at the behavior patterns commonly seen in wikis, both good and bad Wiki tips: Seeding the wiki •No one wants to add to an empty wiki •Also, people don’t know what to add •Add some content to the major categories before going live •Creating an organization scheme will prevent orphan links and chaos Wiki tips: Education •Wikis need lots of info for novice users •Training is important • What is a wiki • What can you do with this wiki • How to edit the wiki • FAQ • Whom to contact for more help • Do lots of marketing Wiki tips: Content development • Focus on the functionality, not the tool mission • If possible, offer trainings • Partner with groups/people related to your • Don’t do it all yourself! • Give the wiki a grassroots feel, make it welcoming •Security Wiki tips: Management •Dealing with spam • Should you require registration? • Bad Behavior plugin • Monitor the wiki several times per day • Get to know and love RSS •Find lots of dedicated helpers! 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 or the Library Success Wiki •Get a group of volunteers to patron a public open wiki •If you need to delete something - use discussion area to explain why things were deleted Questions? Comments? Meredith Farkas mgfarkas at gmail.com http://meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress AIM: librarianmer Links to everything mentioned here, slides from this talk and more at http://meredithfarkas.wetpaint.com