Transcript Slide 1
Wikis and Libraries: A Winning Combination Darlene Fichter University of Saskatchewan [email protected] April 18. 2006 Darlene Fichter Photo by: rolobeetle Some rights reserved. Overview Collaboration & communication Wikis – How do they work – What are some of the benefits – Blogs and wikis, what to use when Questions What is your primary role at your organization? Reference/Instructional Librarian Library ITS (web developer, systems librarian) Library manager Collections or Cataloguing or Digital Projects Other Are you interested in using wikis for: Subject pages Internal project or team work Documentation Personal web publishing Conference Intranet Don’t know Do you contribute to a wiki? Does your organization use: Blogs Wikis RSS feeds Poll: Committees and Teams How many groups do you belong to? None one to two three to five More than 5 How do you share information? – – – – – Email Mailing list Shared file server BBS IM What are some of the limitations? What if … Reduce email overload Have an archive of the work done to date Build a knowledge base auto-magically Have an easy way to write reports, documents, policies, and procedures together Technologies Enabling Online Collaboration Dozens: – – – – – – Discussion forums Email Instant messaging Newsgroups Webcasts Web conferencing – – – – – – – Weblogs Team rooms Text messaging/wireless RSS Wiki Expertise location FOAF What is a “Wiki”? Web application invented by Ward Cunningham in 1994 that allows anyone to add content and anyone to edit it. “It’s a tool for collaboration, really, we don’t know quite what it is but it’s a fun way of communicating asynchronously across the network”. Wiki means “quick” in Hawaiian Wiki Characteristics Intended to be simple so you can focus on the writing, not the mechanics and syntax No HTML know-how required Wikis: Collections of Pages Main Page edit Contact Us edit Electronic edit Virtual edit Wiki pages look like web pages Anyone with a web browser can read a wiki site Illustrations adapted from Guillaume du Gardier. What is a wiki? June 2, 2005 Click, Write and Save ...KMWorld 2005 edit save …KMWorld 2005 edit Anyone with a web browser can edit a wiki site Anyone can undo any change at any time Creating New Pages Make a new page by typing the name in CamelCase, aka WikiName Title NewName … NewName … edit edit Click on any WikiName to see pages that link to it Wiki Design Principles Opennessand and Trust Openness trust – if a page is incomplete or inaccurate anyone can edit it Incremental – pages can cite other pages, even those not yet written Observable – you can see the changes being made Organic – site structure is up to everyone, and it will evolve and change More principles… Wiki Design Principles http://www.c2.com/cgi/wiki?WikiDesignPrinciples Wiki Examples: Wikipedia www.wikipedia.org Wikipedia: Recent Changes Time Lapse – London Bombing http://thelastminute.typepad.com/blog/2005/07/the_day_citizen.html Wikipedia: Viewing History Wikipedia: Talk Page Wiki Gardeners Person who goes around tidying up the wiki, pruning, editing, organizing, and cleaning up Usually liked and respected On a library wiki, you might want to assign this role. Wikis: Professional Knowledge Repositories http://www.libsuccess.org/ Wikis: Conference http://cil2006.pbwiki.com/changes.php?pageID=1/ Library Web Site: Wiki Subject Guide http://www.library.ohiou.edu/subjects/bizwiki/index.php/Main_Page SCJPL: Subject Guides http://www.libraryforlife.org/subjectguides/index.php/Main_Page SCJPL: Subject Guides http://www.libraryforlife.org/subjectguides/index.php/Pets SCJPL: Discussion Pages http://www.libraryforlife.org/subjectguides/index.php/Talk:Crafts Coralville Public Library: Let’s Write! http://www.coralvillepubliclibrary.org/warm.htm Library Web Site Built With a Wiki http://library.usca.edu/ Tour: Library Wikis Internal uses – – – – – Staff Intranet Projects Event planning IT documentation Helpdesk Library Intranet http://wiki.lib.umn.edu/ Library Intranet http://wiki.lib.uconn.edu/wiki/Main_Page Library Information Technology Services Wiki http://wiki.library.vanderbilt.edu/ Project/Committee http://www.seedwiki.com/wiki/b-team/ Internal Wikis in Libraries Collaborative writing (projects, teams developing procedures, policies, plans) Meeting notes and reports Shared knowledge repository Simple Case Study: Event Planning Hosted Wiki: Jotspot www.jotspot.com WYSIWYG Editor What Pages Have Changed? See What Changed Single Page or Side by Side Wiki (Jotspot) Anatomy: Features Search Attach a File Import Word Emails Make a comment Send an Email InviteChanges users via RSS Event Planning and Support http://coppul.jotspot.com (Password protected) Wiki Reactions Well, I wasn't sure about that wiki (sounded like something from Star Wars), but I decided to try it out. It is fabulous! Every conference should have one. Gail Curry, UNBC Conference / Wiki Support Participants signed up for wifi, dine-arounds, connected with each other before the event Shared notes during the presentation and uploaded slides Evaluated the workshop Wiki Roadmap* Install wiki software on web server Plan rollout and content Build the initial structure Populate initial content with early adopters Initial rollout with smaller group Train and coach users Do not underestimate inertia and time *Peter Theony, Wiki Based Collaboration http://twiki.org/cgi-bin/view/Codev/TWikiPresentation17Feb2005 Practical Tips Have a champion – New way of “thinking”, paradigm shift from Intranet, webmaster or CMS (content management system) Choose the right features: – – – – – – Attach files Access control Version control Ease of use: make sure “add a page” is self evident Match look and feel Alert and post via email to wiki Tools to Help You Choose Wiki Matrix – http://www.wikimatrix.org/ Emma Tonkin’s charts in – Making the Case for a Wiki. Ariadne, January 2005 http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue42/tonkin/ Weblogs and Wikis Face Off Photo Credit: Pascal Vuylsteker http://www.flickr.com/photos/pvk/ CC Attribution 2.5 Wikis Weblogs Group voice Individual voice Unstructured, organic Default is by date, reverse chronological Anyone edits Anyone comments Fluid medium: change any time Post medium like email (comment, reply, comment, …) Better management: versions, rollback and change log, syndicate changes Edits aren’t tracked usually, new items are syndicated Less familiar More familiar Wiki Brainstorm Think about collaborative/team activities in your organization and library. Identify 2 or 3 areas where a wiki web would help with collaboration. Identify the “biggest obstacles” and how you might overcome them. Wiki Summary Wikis help support collaboration Tools are simple, quick and inexpensive They belong in our collaboration toolbox Our workplaces are diverse – Diverse users – Diverse needs – Diverse software choices More Resources Wiki Bibliography & Links – http://library.usask.ca/~fichter/wiki/ Questions [email protected]