Why use a wiki? Easy to use, no HTML skills necessary. Good way for staff to share information and collaborate. Can track who made what changes to your content. Examples:

ALA Chicago Wiki

LISWiki

Library Success Wiki

Her library (Jenkins Law Library) used a wiki to create their intranet. Shifted from a structure based on departments to one based on tasks. Now staff can edit and control their own content.

Darren Chase, Stonybrook University

Large library needed a place to collaborate, a knowledge base for their policies, and a resource with troubleshooting documents. Wanted to have complete in-house control over the solution as well. Use WikiMatrix.org to compare wiki sites based on the features you want to use and find a wiki that fits your library’s needs.

Marianne Kruppa, St. Joseph County PL

Modeled their recommended resources page after Kansas City PL. Their guides are now organized in a wiki. Feeds are available for new additions and changes. They highlight online services (databases, encyclopedias, magazines online, canned catalog searches). The guides are organized by major areas and then sub-sections. Discussion option is open so patrons can talk about the subjects and continue the information sharing process. Only librarians can edit the subject guides themselves. also have a staff wiki, where staff create content, collaborate, discuss topics, and where procedures and policies live permanently.

Chad Boeninger, Ohio University

Used wiki to create subject guides for his library because it’s easy to add content from anywhere, there is more room for content, it’s searchable and can be organized by categories. Wiki makes good teaching tool: always available, easy to update, better than creating handouts. Has created wikis for assignments that come up year after year.

Challenges: Getting faculty and staff to contribute. As the content continues to grow, have to become more involved in managing the structure and organization of the site. Spam! Don’t be surprised if usage is less than you expected. He’s the only one contributing to the Biz Wiki right now but that’s okay b/c the students and faculty appreciate it.

• Easy to read
• Easy to navigate
• Easy to find
• Quick to download
• Consistent design and layout

Users should be able to reach their destination within7 or 8 clicks.

Most important information should be above the fold.

Search engine friendly site should: focused, relevant text (that’s what they crawl), navigation scheme that crawlers can easily follow, and be popular (lots of people linking to you).

Do your pages contain words and phrases that match what your target audience types into search engines?

How to make the content appear focused:

• Every page should have unique HTML title tag
• Breadcrumb links and headings.
• Introductory paragraph
• Calls to action (invite users to do something)
• Concluding text (if long page)

Search engines don’t read ALT tags. They look at: title tages, visible copy, text at the top of the webpage, and text in and around hypertext links.

Ideally you want to have two types of navigation: one for the users and one for search engines. Text links and navigation buttons.

If people use abbreviations to look for some of your terms, include the abbreviations in your text.

Although it’s important to keep search engines in mind when designing your site, always develop your sites (code, design, structure) with the end user in mind.

Good way to handle FAQs: Lake County Crisis Center
Consider including an introductory paragraph to your site map: Elgin Chamber of Commerce

Well organized/constructed page: Dee Concrete

Highlights from the A to Z list:

A: Ajax (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML)

B: Beta

D: Digg (articles submitted and voted on by Digg community)

F: Flickr

G: Gmail (because it has a chat feature)

H: Hype (most of these tools are built on hype; won’t be around for long)

L: Library Thing (organize and catalog your books online)

M: Meebo (web-based IM), Muppet Wiki

P: Pandora (use your input and the Music Genome Project to create customized radio stations for you)

Y: YouTube

Z: Zoho (web-based w.p. software)

Most of our customers aren’t familiar with RSS and even fewer use it. That’s okay. The beauty of RSS is that you can take content generated by RSS and plug it in as many places in your website as you want. You can also use RSS to populate your page with external newsfeeds, create a static link list with a feed. The announcements and links section of their intranet is populated with content from a blog (which is delivered by a feed)

Karen Coombs, University of Houston Libraries, Library Chick

University of Houston library uses blogs to facilitate internal communication. (started at the same time as they kicked off their strategic planning process–used as a tool to gather and share information about that process). Now have blogs for all sorts of things: committee work, service points, working groups. Service point blog is on the desktop of their computers so they can easily stay on top of news, changes, etc. Still unresolved issues (not integrated with their intranet, not integrated with existing authentication and authorization issues)

Aaron Schmidt, Thomas Ford Memorial Library, Walking Paper
Don’t get too excited about the fact that your library has a blog. Most people don’t care. Use them as a tool to publish content to your website and connect with your customers. Examples:

Western Springs History (Thomas Ford)

WPopac blog (“an open source application based on WordPress to represent bibliographic collections — library catalogs and such — in an easily searchable, highly remixable web-based format.”) . Sample catalog record.

Westmonth Public Library has created a “new book shelf” in Flickr. Title info and links to the OPAC added to the Flickr images.

Include MeeboMe widget on your blog so you can chat with readers. What else can you do? Get your content in other parts of the blogosphere. Contribute to other blogs in your community.

Follow through is important. Have some content planned. Publish regularly. If you don’t, people won’t stop visiting your site. Make a commitment to it.

Blogging is pretty mainstream right now but most libraries slow to get on board. World is moving forward without us.

Meredith Farkas, Norwich University, Information Wants to Be Free blog
Reimagining traditional subject pages. Layers could include:

• Useful journals
• Useful books
• New books on the subject
• Useful websites
• Instructional material
• Subject related news

Use RSS (syndicate blog content, database search feeds, feeds of new books in the library, bookmarked web content, etc.) to update this information dynamically.

Norwich University example

Tools 

Aaron doesn’t spend much time on MySpace and doesn’t have an account because it think it’s a pretty bad user experience (poorly designed pages, lots of ads); however that doesn’t mean he doesn’t think libraries shouldn’t have a presence on MySpace. Librarians with very nice MySpace pages:

Denver Public (well integrated with their public site)

University Illinois Undergraduate Library

Thomas Ford Memorial Library

MySpace opportunities for librarians:

• MySpace tips and tricks
• Class for parents
• Historic figure/book character project

Tips:

• Be authentic
• Give up control
• Have fun
• Consider who you to be
• Include video and music
• Use MySpace bulletins for marketing your programs

Include Meebome widget

My Own Cafe–very cool example of a library hosting MySpace-like page for their communtity. Place for teens to hang out and find out what other teens in the area are reading, listening to, etc. Started by Southeastern Mass Library System.

Is it a fad? Yes, but the need (users want to connect/form communities) won’t go away.
Cliff Landis, Valdosta State University

Using Facebook in academic institutions. Questions we should be asking:

What is the nature of the technology?

• How are my customers using it?
• How can I use this technology to benefit my customers?
• Will it improve my service?
• How should we identify ourselves?

Why do it? Fits into your organization’s goals. Enhance the experience of your online users.

Caveat: Podcasting is not a one-shot deal. It requires an ongoing commitment from your institution. Before plunging in, ask yourself if you’re in a position to support it.

What can you podcast?

• Library news
• Programs
• Bibliographic instruction
• Services for the visually impaired
• Staff training

Jeff Humphrey, INCOLSA

Have extensive collection of videos (VHS) in their archive. In the process of digitizing them and converting them to video podcasts. Collection.

David Free, Georgia Perimeter College, Davids Random Stuff Blog
His library started podcasting in 2005. 10-12 weekly minute podcasts of library news, services, collections, etc. Lessons learned:

• Keep it short
• Make sure it feeds
• Promote. Then promote some more.
• Use music sparingly.
• Mutliple voices rock.
• Podcast all your events
• Create a page that links to all your podcasts
• Listen to your listeners–what do they want to hear?

David King, Topeka-Shawnee Kansas, creator of Etc. videoblogVideo blogging is video on a blog. Why is it getting big?

• Cheap, easy, mobile
• Video iPods
• Inexpensive storage
• Readily available blog and feed technologies

What can libraries videocast?

• Book talks
• Bib. instruction and tutorials
• Events
• Cultural memory project
• Behind the scenes
• Video local citizens
• Partner with school groups

• Meet users on their turf (which increasingly is online). We’re not just talking about kids and teens!
• People want to connect. Despite the bad design and structural problems, people will continue using Myspace because they want to connect.
• Offer reference and circulation help via IM. Not being available via IM is like not having a phone to a certain segment of the population.
• Dedicate staff (not lip service) to online outreach. Staff have to be given time to do this on an ongoing basis.
• Everyone’s patrons will become your patrons (and vice versa). Be okay with this, it will all come right in the end.
• Find out where your users are and go there.

Checklist:

1. Make sure you’re findable in the major search engines.

2. Make sure you’re listed in library directories.

3. List your library in Wikipedia on the appropriate town or county entries.

4. Make sure you’re in Wikimapia.

5. List your library events and services in local community websites and calendars.

6. Ensure that your library has a presence on local government, school, and community websites.

7. Monitor local blogs, technology boards, continuing education boards, and other forums.

8. Create a profile for your library in social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace.  Teen examples.

9. Offer instances via IM

10. List your library in free WiFi directories (if you offer)

11. Check reviews of your library on social review sites.

12. List your library blog on geographic blog search engines.

13. Are your items in WorldCat?

14. Make sure you’re in Google Local.

15. Push newsletters out via email and RSS feeds.

16. Consider being present in Second Life and other online game environments.

17. List your staff as experts in various free expert-finding tools.

18. Make your audio and video content findable (upload videos to YouTube, Google Video, Podcast Alley, iTunes, etc.)

19. Make sure your library blog is listed in blog search engines.

20. Subscribe to feeds to find discussions/content about your library.

Notes: Not a training program–no workshops, no tutorial sessions, no handouts. 352 (out of 542) staff have participatedNine week program with an additional month for exploring. Only open source, free products used. Staff from I.T. not involved.

Lessons learned: Communicate weekly using 1.0 methods. Focus on discovery and encourage challenges. Encourage staff to use each other and work together. Remember that it’s not about acceptance or doing it right; it’s about exposure. Continually encourage staff to play. Give staff the time and permission to learn, grow, and evolve.