Something Wiki this way comes--Wikimania 2006

Ok. After my diatribe on the vagaries of cataloging, I'm gonna keep this one short. (yes, really. ) Wikipedia. love it or hate it, if you're a librarian, it's a part of your life or will be soon. First, I do think Wikis as a general reference tool are suspect at best, for all the reasons everyone knows already. That said, I think that in certain specific areas they can be helpful--If you cidn't get a chance to attend, go take a look at Meredith Farkas' awesome SirsiDynix webinar on Wikis in the library for an excellent synopsis on how Wikis can be used for the forces of good (information, that is).

I came a little late to the wikipedia party (I wanna say i used it for the first time in 2004), and never really got involved in the editing side. This week, as I've been perusing my blogs, I've run into quite a few articles on wikipedia and wikis in general that I thought worth sharing, and hopefully will spark a conversation about the role of wikis in the library, how we can educate our patrond about using wikis (and about online information literacy in general), and if there are ways we can create or support new efforts such as Digital Universe that try to strike a balance between accuracy and participation.

More Links:
Fact (Vanity Fair): long and highly interesting article about the history of Wikipedia

Meredith Farkas' presentations on Wikis (as well as blogs and other 2.0 technology)

The Infamous Nature article comparing Wikipedia and Britannica's accuracy rates

And last but not least, Wikimania 2006, the event that inspired the story that inspired this post.