Libraries use of WIkis

Libraries can make good use of Wiki's for generating user participation:
1. Libraries can provide Community information such as the information provided on the Local Eye website. Customers can then add reviews of resturants, comments on service from retail shops etc, this may be one direction to take Local Eye in.
2. Subject guide wikis can be updated by customers who can add pages and extra links and repair broken links. Podcasts can be made to show customers how to search databases and the library website.
3. Wiki's can be used internally in libraries as collaborative work spaces or as an intranet. Conferences use wikis to provide information on the best place to eat, or use Wifi or host a conference blog and photos.
4. Catalogues can use wikis to annotate the catalogue with reviews and synopses of books customers have read and add tags to books to improve findability in an Open Catalogue such as Open WorldCat.
5. Library events such as competitions and author visits can be promoted and winners displayed and reported in the library blog and photos displayed on the Library's flickr pages. Library podcasts can be hosted reporting and promoting events. Consultation on Library proposals for new buildings can get immediate feedback from their communities.
The aim is for libraries to take the conversation with users into digital space so they can share library experiences and enable a digital community. Enabling real conversations where you can tell your personal story and others continue the story. For example our library puts up a page on Christchurch history and some digital photos we could encourage library customers add their photos to the site and tell their stories about them, other customers could then view them and comment on them adding their own stories. I can see potential for subject pages to be developed by librarians and extented by the public by specialist users creating a database similar to our FITCH pages extending it to include publishing or comments from the public.