Stevens County, Washington
April 9, 2008
Stevens County Rural Library District
Stevens County, Washington
Stevens County Rural Library District Wiki
It is easy to get to Stevens County Rural Library District Wiki from the Stevens County Rural Library District (second link down, directly below Good Reads). This impressive wiki project is a must-see! Unlike other libraries using wiki pages to announce events, share book reviews, and promote the library, they are building their own local encyclopedia about Stevens County (Washington).
This local wiki encyclopedia is an incredible example of people working together, harnessing the collective intelligence, expressing their knowledge, trusting each other and building community. This is exactly the kind of project that epitomizes Web 2.0.
And it is hugely popular: over 11 million hits for a small, rural library wikipage is off the charts! (11,165,850 hits, according to Alexa.com: results here). They have articles on many different subjects (including how to elect a town grouch. They have modeled their wiki on Wikipedia, using Mediawiki, and it seems very usable. “Wikipedia builds on transparency, simple linking, and a low barrier to entry for crowds of people to be involved in editing and authoring.” (What Is a Wiki, O’Reilly). This local wiki encyclopedia does the same thing.
This is an example of how wikis are great for large, shared projects. “A large number of recorded ideas means, of course, that it’s easy to get out of sync with project partners, and that’s where the wiki as shared memory comes in. Using a wiki for your big projects keeps all participants on the same page”(O’Reilly).
My only tiny suggestion for improvement would be that they consider including some images. They have obviously done a stellar job!
The library website, while somewhat rudimentary in design, is using other Web 2.0 tools (MySpace, live chat with reference librarian, Online Book Club), clearly working to encourage patrons to engage with the library and participate. The wiki somewhat overshadows the homepage.
If I were a patron of this library I would not necessarily use this wiki because it is not directly related to the library (i.e. it is not about books, reading, library events or workshops). However, if I lived in Stevens County or had a desire to go there, I would definitely use it!
