By far, my favorite library wiki is the Biz Wiki that was created by the Ohio University Libraries. I found this wiki to be innovative, thorough, helpful and user friendly. Although I was not a business major in college, I can envision how this would greatly assist college students throughout their academic careers at Ohio University. The reason why this wiki is successful is because it organizes the resources that are available through the libraries in a way that makes them readily accessible. If I had a project involving marketing, I could quickly find a list of all the databases related to marketing. Not only would I be able to find links to these databases but I could also read short descriptions and tips on how to use each one.
This wiki does not only cover databases. It also concerns itself with reference books, websites and research guides as long as they are related to business. It's clear that the librarians at this institution are deeply committed to helping their business students conduct research. The wiki provides insightful information on how to locate industry information, statistics, company information, data on international business, etc. There is a wide range of business areas covered throughout this wiki, which demonstrates the thoroughness of the libraries' resources.
What I enjoyed the most about this wiki is its user friendliness. Its interface is very reminiscent of Wikipedia, which helped me feel immediately comfortable with it. Given all the research conducted on college students and their strong reliance on Wikipedia, it is safe to assume that many Ohio University students are also quite familiar with the site. Therefore, this wiki is less intimidating because it is not altogether new to them. Aside from the Wikipedia resemblance, Biz Wiki is also easy to navigate because each of the various sections are distinctly labeled and organized.
When comparing Biz Wiki to the other wiki examples, I was able to see how the purpose of wiki the most crucial aspect of it. Biz Wiki is designed for undergraduate students. It must be able to assist students in research regardless of their professor or specific project because these factors change regularly.
The Plymouth Regional High School Library Research Page is created to help teachers implement wiki usage into their curriculum. Therefore, the articles are meant to be read by teachers and not for outsiders to gain any valuable new information. There are also some articles that only contain links to websites.
The Durham County Library Strategic Plan's wiki is meant to facilitate customer input. Their articles state the various ways they are striving to meet each of the goals within their plan. It is an excellent wiki and provides an opportunity for people to stay informed on how the library is progresses in regards to their strategic plan.
These wikis all made a strong impression on me for different reasons. I appreciate how a library can incorporate a wiki into their high school students' regular activities, a public library can gain ideas from its users, and a university can guide its business students through their research. These examples all shine for different reasons and it is a testament to the versatility of wikis.
After reading your glowing review of the OUL's Biz Wiki, I had to check it out. I was surprised to see that it was being discontinued "due to advances in technologies and changing student/faculty needs" (http://www.library.ohiou.edu/subjects/bizwiki/index.php/Biz_Wiki_to_be_Discontinued). After reading the librarian's blog (http://libraryvoice.com/technology/9-things-ive-learned-in-the-four-years-with-the-biz-wiki), I suspect part of this decision was also influenced by his boredom from using the same tool, in this case a wiki, for six years. Therefore he has decided to replace it with the Business Blog (http://www.library.ohiou.edu/subjects/businessblog/) which looks pretty cool too.
ReplyDelete