Wiki

Wikipedia, I'm sure every reference library staff member runs into this on a daily basis. Regardless of the subject, wikipedia always appears to be in the top ten hits. Interesting to read the German study which compared wiki entries to those in a German encyclopedia: error rate higher in print encyclopedia. Umm I know librarians are often very dismissive of wikipedia but in the right context it can be useful, particularly if you need a quick overview of a subject for your on edification as opposed to writing an assignment. I often use it to bring me up to speed with a new technology; I always intend to read more so any errors will be identified quickly.

Obviously the user friendly and collaborative nature of wiki's make them suitable for lots of applications. I am aware that the NSW Readers advisory group and the NSW ILL group utilise wiki's to facilitate communication. This year I will be involved in two wiki projects, one a procedure manual for work and the other a wiki for the refex initiative. The latter will require a more sophisticated understanding of mediawiki coding which will be challenging.