For my web 2.0 review, I chose to write about the use of wiki’s. I chose this topic because of their applicability to libraries and librarians. I am going to define what a wiki is, how it may be used in libraries, and some drawbacks to the use of wiki’s. I am certain that the last component may cause uproar, but I feel that I must give both sides of the argument.
A wiki is a “website that allows visitors to add, remove, edit and change content, typically without the need for registration. It also allows for linking among any number of pages. This ease of interaction and operation makes a wiki an effective tool for mass collaborative authoring. The term wiki can also refer to the collaborative software itself (wiki engine) that facilitates the operation of such a site.”[1]
The Association of College and Research Libraries defines wikis as a “collaborative” and “multi-authored” web resource.[2] Moreover, Doug Achterman states that the “potential of wikis as an educational tool remains largely untapped. The power of a wiki lies in its ability to provide a format for collaborative construction of knowledge.”[3]
So what does this have to do with library services? Well, the ACRL goes on to say that wikis can be used in library instruction. “Library instruction wikis have two chief uses: the sharing of knowledge and the ability to cooperate in creating resources, such as informational handouts and guides.”[4] This may include instruction web pages, subject guides, pathfinders, resource lists, etc. A second application of wiki software is Wikipedia.com, and how students can use this resource for quick reference sources. Moreover, students, librarians, and faculty should be taught how to add content to this web service; thus adding to the collective knowledge of the human race. Another possible application of wiki software is its role in literacy development.
As for some of the drawbacks to wiki’s, I will only address a few. For the purpose of this project, I will not attempt to deal with the philosophically or ideology of the wisdom of crowds.
The first major drawback for wiki’s is authority and credibility. I do not mean the author as an expert, but in the teaching of authority and credibility as a librarian. Librarians used to be able to say to users to not use .com web sites as credible, however many of the wiki software platforms are .coms. http://bullrunlibrary.pbwiki.com/
The second drawback is Wikipedia. While Middlebury College got a lot a flack from 2.0 enthusiasts because they told students that they cannot use Wikipedia as a source, the question is not whether Wikipedia is a trustworthy site. While this is debatable, the greater point is that college students are to NEVER use an encyclopedia of any origin in a research paper.
My final words are from Larry Sanger, co-founder of Wikipedia. He states:
Clearly, something really important has been left out of the Web 2.0 equation. What? What needs to be added so that our communities produce content that is not merely abundant, useful, and interesting, but also reliable and relevant? I have three principles, which I will state briefly first but then elaborate, because it is very easy to misunderstand in all three cases. They are: 1. Find a meaningful role for experts within the project. 2. Require contributors to use their real-world identities. 3. Establish the rule of law by committing contributors to a social contract that makes them full partners in the project. Adopting these three principles will help transform Web 2.0 into Web 3.0. Leveraged intelligently, these principles will allow an online community to produce high quality and relevance, without necessarily compromising high productivity. They will, in short, help the Internet to grow up.[5]
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki
[3] Doug Achterman, “Beyond Wikipedia”, Teacher Librarian, Dec. 2006.
[4] http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlpubs/crlnews/backissues2007/april07/usingawiki.cfm
[5] http://www.citizendium.org/cznewvision.html#Three_principles
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February 26, 2008 at 4:58 pm
Cassie
I think wikis are awesome but I definitely see the downsides when it comes to credibility and wiki-patrol. However, a lot of times (in my amateur observation) students do not take advantage of half of what the library website and library wikis offer. Sometimes they do not even know there are handouts, guides, etc available. By telling students “This is your resource, feel free to edit!” you are encouraging them to explore what may be available to them because you are giving them a license to create, not just telling them, “Here are some things that you should look at.” So maybe the pros of wikis outweigh the cons? Just a thought.
–Cassie