#17--Wikis Pt. 2 (SandBox Wiki)

I went over to the SandBox Wiki and put my library blog on the favorite blog page. I saw that some of the blogs were arranged by system...I was wondering if OPL's will get their own spot on the list or if we'll all just be on there wherever.

I found it to be a bit messy overall, which I don't really like. I don't like wading through information all ran together. It's like reading a run-on sentence...tedious and confusing.

When I was looking at some of the music listed in the favorite music wiki or in the movie wiki, I was annoyed that each person's comments were just sort of blobbed together, one after another, without any sort of break in between them. I am not sure if this is like this because each individual poster did not put the breaks after their post or not.

Even so, if there is a moderator of the page they could step in and put some breaks in between or something so that a person can tell where one person's thoughts begin and end.

Other than that though, it can be interesting to see what other library staffers are into. I know that this wiki is just for play so I can understand why it is more lax about style and appearance...I guess I just like reading something less jumbled.

#16- Wikis Pt. 1

Taking a look at some of the examples given for library wikis, I saw lots of variety. I also imagined what it would be like if OPL had something simular to Printceton Public Library or Bull Run Public Library...two that I really enjoyed looking at.

PPL had book reviews. It think this is an excellent use of a wiki because patrons can comment openly about what books they've read. It creates dialogue and allows library staff to see what kinds of books their patrons are reading and enjoying (and what they aren't).

Bull Run had information about their library programs, Friends booksales, as well as information about the county history. I think having a wiki like this possibly combined with a book review wiki might make for a really cool wiki site for a public library.

The Library Success wiki was also highly useful, providing information about leadership and materials development, as well as customer service...lots of useful info. for library staffers.

One of the most professional and well organized wikis I looked at today was the WikiNorthia site for Melbourne. I liked how everything was sorted out by topics and the look of the site was very clean and easy to navigate.

A wiki for either staff or patrons could be useful in the future at OPL. I would love to see what our patrons feel about what they are reading from our library, and I would like to see information about the library and its functions become accessible through this media.