In some ways Wikipedia could be seen as the enemy of public libraries - as the sacriligious Bigpond ad went: who need libraries when you get broadband? The fact is that many librarians use Wikipedia as a tool in answering reference questions. As pointed out in one of the Wikis, they have proven to be more accurate and up to date that printed encyclopedias. In that sense they are very useful.
They are also good in that they provide an easy way or people with little technical knowledge to create or contribute towards websites.
I do wonder though how well used some of the smaller less well known wikis are. For example, I checked out the Benjamin Franklin wiki referenced and there were many sections with no contributions. Do people have time to discuss things on a wiki?
Another site referenced, the Book lovers wiki, explained that they had moved on from this technology to using their catalogue instead.
Are wikis just an interim technology or are they here for the long haul?
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1 comment:
What is the long haul now? I'm not sure how lonmg wikis are here for but I think people will demand democratic creation of information for some time to come..I think we have just gotten too used to it???
Leanne
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