Wikis

I have a little previous experience with these, having created a page on the ALSC wiki based on material produced at a preconference last June (on library services for people with disabilities). That wiki was a little complicated to use, mostly because of style rules.

I think wikis are great, and I see a lot of applications for them in the public library. First of all, I think they make great internal communication tools for library groups, such as our teen tech pages or the members of T-MAD (our teen advisory board). I can see a wiki as a good vehicle for sharing fingerplays and songs with parents of young children. In Youth Services, we currently maintain a physical bulletin board where I post notices of workshops and other information for parents whos kids have disabilities. If parents, educators and locl organizations had access and enough of them knew about it, a wiki would be a wonderful addition to or replacement for the physical bulletin board.