Wiki World

The Wikipedia entry for wiki tells us that "Wiki" is an Hawaiian work meaning: quick or fast.

The Hawiian Electronic Library gives the following definitions:

wiki
vs. To hurry, hasten; quick, fast, swift. See alawiki. Hele wiki, quick time, quick step. E wiki 'oe, mai lohi (FS 111), hurry, don't delay. (Probably PEP witi, although Easter Island viti may be a Tahitian loan.) ho'o.wiki To hurry, hasten.

wiki
vi. To hurry; quick, fast. Cf. wiki. Mai lohi mai 'oe, e alawiki mai, don't be slow, be fast.

Wiki has become the name of a website format that allows easy collaboration among participants, adding to and improving the content of the website

For more information, our assigned readings were helpful:

1) Wiki in Plain English (3:52) -- an entertaining, short video introduction -- geared to the general public.

2) What is a Wiki -- a short, but useful introduction -- geared to librarians

I enjoyed the Wikis. I focused my attention on the Subject Guides, Course Guides, & Resource Guides section of What is a Wiki.

Biz Wiki Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, USA (mediawiki) included a video of the business librarian, Chad Boeninger, introducing himself and his Biz Wiki -- a nice personal touch. This helped convey that the librarian was accessible for questions and had a strong interest in helping and in his Wiki.

Chad Boeninger also had a chat box next to his video. He shared links to his business blog and twitter account -- again very open and accessible. He had a modest help page. The wiki was more like a personal website page done within a Wiki format. I couldn't tell if collaboration was enabled on the Wiki for members of the Uhio University community.

His Wiki consisted mostly of links to various business resources offered at the university library. It might take less clicks to reach the same material in a non-wiki format, but the clean look of the wiki makes searching an enjoyable experience. I wish he had include material on how to use the databases. Otherwise, going through his wiki was a very pleasant experience.

Library Research Guides Norwich University, Northfield, Vermont, USA (mediawiki) does not feel like a wiki at all. It looks like a non-wiki webpage. It's primarily a set of subject research guides -- called "pathfinders" in the library world. It also has some course pathfinders, and links to individual librarian wikipages. The pathfinders are well done. I particularly liked the one on Economic Statistics.

Like Chad Boeninger's Biz Wiki, the Library Research Guides do not provide help regarding how to use their databases or the public websites listed on their pathfinders. The Library Research Guides wikipages were sometimes inconsistent in design or content -- some have librarian's picture, some do not; most have contact information, at least one did not -- English. Though librarians might be collaborating behind the scenes, there is no wiki format or functionality on the front end of the wikipages.

To their credit the Healey Library Course Resource Hub University of Massachusetts-Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. (wikispaces) does provide some tutorials on the use of it's databases, but they are very poor -- they do however provide information for further assistance: Healey Library Reference Services, Live Online Chat, and E-mail a reference question.

There is potential in using more of the capabilities of wiki pages. Patrons would benefit from collaboratively creating better help pages, more useful database descriptions, and pooling their research experience into their own pathfinders with critical opinions and comments -- together with that of librarians and perhaps interested professors.