According to Muñoz (2012), a wiki is a "collaborative Web site that allows users to participate in its creation" (p. 21). Wiki users can view, create, and edit content that may be publicly or privately displayed. While the most well known site is Wikipedia, wiki's can take be also be used effectively by individuals, groups, and organizations for collaboration.
My field library is a small academic institution. The college has three branch campuses that occupy both urban and suburban areas. The student population is approximately 5,400. The library, described institutionally as “Academic Support Services,” is comprised of the library, tutoring, and computer labs. Despite being under the same administrative roof, the three branch campuses have become isolated from each other and the core mission of the library.
This library could benefit from a staff wiki that could 1) eliminate the "silo mentality" of the branch campuses; 2) organize and track project workflows; 3) consolidate and coordinate best practices; 4) be a respiratory of library policies for quick reference.
After review, the best wiki choice for my institution would be Confluence by Atlassian. Confluence offered an easy to use, WYSIWYG interface that staff members of varying technological competencies could utilize. Additionally, Confluence had commercial support and the ability to be cloud based so as to not have to be beholden to the institution's server. While Confluence is a paid service (free up to 5 users, $10/month for 10 users), the unlimited data storage would be worth the expense. There is no telling what this project could evolve into after the ball gets rolling and unlimited would undoubtedly be as asset. Ultimately, this wiki would provide a means to organize collaboration between branch campuses and encourage cooperation. Information would be shared and increased oversight could be possible. The wiki would allow the library staff to more effectively service its community of students and faculty.
Muñoz, C. L. (2012). More than just Wikipedia: Creating a collaborative research library using a wiki. Marketing Education Review, 22(1), 21-25. doi: 10.2753/MER1052-8008220104
I chose Confluence too! In my opinion it is worth the cost for the amount of features it has - and in the case of your library may not even be that expensive since it's only $10 a month for 10 people. For 25+ people it's over $100 a month - yuck.
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