Thing #16: Wikis

I first encountered wikis while working at the reference desk of an academic library. Initially, I absolutely despised the idea, as it provided a false sense of authority to articles that could be complete bunk (such as can be said for the internet as a whole, I guess). I frequently heard students (these were college students keep in mind) say that wikipedia must be accurate because it was just like an online encyclopedia. The similar names meant that veracity must also be similar. This was several years ago, and since then the general public's knowledge of wikis has improved, but also it seems to me the content available has also come a long way. From my initial distaste for the concept, I now frequently find myself happily finding information on wikipedia. I usually only use the site to satisfy personal curiosity on a topic, and would still never point a student towards it as a resource for school. But still, it seems that the quality of writing and the accuracy in place has truly made great strides. I now enjoy them (wikipedia specifically) a great deal and often use the site when I seek an answer simply for my own edification. I guess the way I look at it at this point is as a kind of online encyclopedia specifically for odd topics. I'll often look up a character from a book, movie, or comic and find where fans have researched every appearance of that figure, read interviews with the creators, and really provided a nice bit of background information that would have otherwise taken significant leg work to track down. So as I said, great for personal curiosity, not so good for scholarly research.

I looked at some of the suggested wikis and wasn't too sure about the purpose of the sites. The Book Lover's Wiki just seemed like a review site, which we've already seen throughout the 23 things. The Bull Run Library wiki just seems like a crummy web page. It's not so much a true wiki, so much as it is (the site admits) just a place on the internet where one patron updates info about programs and the library. I think the concept of wikis has alot of potential, but there is still quite a bit of thought necessary as to how they should be properly employed in our profession. Just how they'll influence libraries in the future remains to be seen.

Thing #15: Library 2.0

I read through the top two of the suggested articles, and quickly realized that there were issues I wanted to address, so it seemed logical to simply go ahead and blog on those before continuing on with my reading. In the "iceberg" article, the section on user education struck me. I completely understand the author's attitude that we need to make information more accessible to the general public, since it would be virtually impossible for us to train every patron on the proper formation of a precise Boolean search string. At the same time, I fear for our society. A large part of me wonders why we shouldn't expect (or at least hope for) the majority of users to be able to make use of library resources. Far too often, I'm asked by patrons what the difference is between fiction and non-fiction. Or why can't we call a branch for them instead of "making" them use the book quick phone. Or I'll face yet another parent asking me for the shortest book possible so that their non-reading child can drift through their summer reading assignment. Yes, I understand that it is important for libraries to make our services accessible to patrons. But on another level, I rebel against our emergent culture of proud ignorance and unrepentant sloth. In some halcyon world, at least the library could remain as a bastion of academic honesty and intellectual effort. Our nation includes far too many universities where "The History of Baseball" and "Rock and Roll Appreciation" are honor's classes. It pains me to think that libraries would be just another link in the chain of society's intellectual devolution.

Thing # 14: Technorati

With the enormous number of blogs being registered each day, I can really see this site being of great value for those who want to locate blogs of worth. Having experience with myspace, I see the worthless blogs that are written every day. It takes a special kind of vanity to assume that the world cares about what kind of Pop Tart you had for breakfast. Luckily Technorati allows users to see which blogs are the most popular and which topics are most in demand. I was not really surprised to see that the most popular were focussed on either technology or politics. I do find myself reading political blogs on a fairly regular basis, and can see the appeal of technical blogs for those hoping to keep up with the constantly evolving world of electronics. I think that for those who seek the opinions and advice of bloggers, this site could be very useful.

Thing #13: Mmmm... Del.icio.us

The worst part of this "thing" was definitely the video posted from the Otter Group, describing what Delicious was and how it could be used. I'm sure the narrator is a fine woman, but she should never ever be allowed to speak again. Her voice is quite capable of putting a charging rhino into a coma. I'm not even sure what she talked about, I only seem to remember it being very very dull.
But once I was done yawning my way thru the presentation, I was quickly impressed with the site itself. I of course visisted the PLCMCL2 delicious page and was impressed with what I found. The categorical breakdown of their bookmarked sites made it very easy to see what items were found to be of value by the administrators, and some of it did seem to be quite useful. I was especially happy to see a "parent's guide to myspace" on the homepage, which is of course a current hot topic.
I'm sure there are some very silly delicious sites out there, but in the right hands, I can really see this being a useful tool.