# 16 The Wiki of Collaboration

The word that stays in my mind about Wikis is COLLABORATION. Wikis foster collaborative work amongst groups whether that be the community, amongst libraries, amongst patrons & other groups. Wikis combine interaction amongst multiple groups or can be specific to a designated group.

The downside of the Wiki is that spammers or malicious people can vandalise entries where control is too loose.

According to Meredith Farkas, Wikis can be "used for intranets, research spaces, collaborative projects, creating documentation & editing text".

It would be useful to create subject guides for the library from the Wikis. Librarian can use the wiki to add useful resources to the collection. Simultaneouly, this environment encourages the prunning away of dead links. There is use for annotating the catalog with a wikis. As long as wikis functionality is immersed into the catalog, then patrons can submit reviews for the books read. In turn, when other patrons are not sure whether they will like a book, the review can provide them some insight. Interestingly there is potential for a Community Wiki on an area of interest decided by its community members. This kind of wiki can supply community information to the local community whereby its members are inclusive of its entire process. Librarians too will benefit from a wiki. Amongst its many uses, we can use it to develop ideas for the next library project. As per Farkas, "it's a better way of organising the group's efforts & keeping track of where everyone is in the process". The wiki aids to keep track of the flow of conversation in emails. In this case, the effect is that the wiki stops librarians from reinventing the wheel.

I am excited to see Brimbank Libraries institute their first WIKI soon.