Wiki, wiki, wah

Ok, the title of the blog is suppose to be my imitation of the sound of a record being scratched, you know, like you hear in rap and hip hop songs. That is the sound that pops in my head when I hear the word wiki, but I digress...

I really like the idea of a wiki for the VHS. I think for internal use, it could be most helpful in keeping everyone informed about policies, procedures, etc. It can also be a way for us to communicate and learn about all the various departments. For instance, I made a page called "collections in process," so that those of us in archives can let everyone one know what we are working on. This might not be of interest or value to everyone, but who knows. I think it could be very useful for the library staff. Sometimes a patron will come in looking for information and if the collection they need is not yet processed, they might miss some valuable information. By listing collections that we are working on, the reference staff could quickly view this page to see if there is anything relevant.

For external use, it might be another way to attract and interact with out patrons. Using wikis in connection with our on-line exhibits could draw people into discussions and in turn help us learn more about our patrons and what they are interested in. The drawback to a public wiki though is something we would have to deal with. Open source formats need to be monitored to make sure that all the content is appropriate.

At any rate, I am very excited about the wiki. I will be checking back this week to see how other people like it and what they have added or edited.

Back to the crypt lots of work to do...