If You Build It, Will They Come?
Wiki: a Web site that allows visitors to
make changes, contributions, or corrections
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| The Children's Corner at the Statham Public Library. Even toddlers use computers these days! |
In today’s
Web 2.0 world, libraries are constantly looking for ways to connect to the
community. Some people may rarely enter
a library, but they can still benefit from library resources and seek help from
librarians through online services. These
days, libraries have Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, Instragram, Tumblr, chat
services, and wikis. Maybe it is an “if
you build it, they will come” sort of mentality.
The Library
The Statham
Public Library where I work has one room and 11 public access computers. It is run by a staff of five part-time
employees (including the manager) and offers a limited number of programs. It serves a population of 2,408 in the city
of Statham, Barrow County, Georgia. The
population is made up of students, a relatively large senior population, young
families, and a sizeable minority population.
Located within the city are an elementary school, a middle school, a
senior assisted living center, and numerous small businesses. Recently, more families have moved to Statham
because of job opportunities in the nearby city of Athens.
The Statham
Public Library is part of the Piedmont Regional Library System and shares
resources such as eBooks and database subscriptions with other libraries in the
region. On its own, the library does not
have a very large budget, but sharing resources with other libraries allows the
Statham library to offer more services and programs.
The Wiki
To fit with
the requirements of the Statham Public Library, a wiki would be most useful
shared among the libraries in the region.
This would enable staff members at different libraries to share ideas
and collaborate on projects. It needs to
be customizable, easy to use, and recognizable as a part of the library
system. With these qualifications, as
well as features such as a page history, English as the main language, and an
unlimited storage quota, I chose Wetpaint (http://www.wetpaint.com/)
as the best fit for my library. Wetpaint
is free and does not allow ads. It
allows for corporate branding and is intended for all users, requiring no
special skills to use.
Hopefully,
by creating a place for library staff to interact and collaborate, where
questions can be asked and answered, the library region and its communities can
all benefit.
The collaboration by all the libraries linked to the wiki will increase your resources without breaking the budget. It is a sound choice.
ReplyDeleteI think so, too, Cherese. The libraries in my region have really increased their collaboration over the past year - swapping ideas, sharing resources, and getting to know each other - and it really makes things easier and more fun.
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