Wikipedia has always been a useful starting point for researching a topic giving useful keywords and avenues to explore. Old Gregg hasn't really explored the world of wikis before so this was a great opportunity.
The Montana History Wiki is a great way to put resources together by subject to make life easier for staff and patrons. This could be applied at a public library with pages and links for popular school projects/local history studies etc
The Antioch University Library Staff Training and Support wiki is a fantastic idea. This would be very useful to be able to click on a link to a procedure rather than looking through a hard copy.
The wiki I liked the most out of this list (although I did refuse to look at the Twilight wiki!) was the NSW Readers Advisory Services. This is a great resource for public libraries to share and gain new ideas. I was inspired by a couple of the suggestions for the year of reading in 2012. I liked the 'drop everything and read' idea, like a flash mob, obviously reading a book isn't as visually stunning as dancing but in a busy enough place and great enough numbers it could have quite an impact! I also really like the 'books and beer' idea, not sure how it would be implemented but it involves beer so I'm there!
I also liked the wiki that had links to all the libraries with blogs in the US. Some of these libraries are very impressive! I really liked the Baldwinsville Library (I like to imagine that Alec Baldwin has bought this town and has given jobs like Mayor and Sheriff to his less successful brothers).
http://baldwinsvillelibrary.wordpress.com/
Like you I refused to look at the Twilight Wiki, but I did look at the Muppets and that was great. For wikis in libraries they need to have a fun (not hip) element in them for the public so they will draw them back to the Wiki.
ReplyDeleteYou're right - the 'drop everything and read' flash mob sounds like a great idea! Whilst not as cool as 'stand still' or 'dance' flash mobs, it would still work to get peoples attention.
ReplyDeleteAnd since when did Gregg become interested in beer!? I thought he only drank Baileys? Then again...Books and Baileys has a ncie ring to it also :-)
Unfortunately I DID look at the Twilight Wiki ... but not for long!
ReplyDeleteI, too, love the Antioch University Library Staff Training and Support Wiki. How much simpler would life be ...
However, I think a local history wiki, like the Montana History Wiki is more likely to be implemented first within our area because of the dedicated and enthusiastic volunteer support base the Community Museum has.