Until recently I had never heard of Wikis, much less ever guess what they were. How much easier Wikis would have made group projects when I was in school. Trying to get everyone together at the same time to work on a project was nearly impossible. Wikis allow anyone/everyone the ability to take part in the creation and editing of the content on the wiki and reflects the imagination and creativity of everyone involved. What a delightfully wonderful idea.
Since some wikis are open to everyone and others are not, you must decide if you want your wiki open to editing by anyone or if you want more control over what is edited and by whom. An open community type wiki, similar to the old cork bulletin boards with business cards pinned to them, could beneficial in reaching a broader clientelle and should allow for open editing from the general public. Posting community events (free concerts, fund raisers, marathons, dog washes, car washes, etc.) on a wiki could not only save time and money, it could reach more of the community. As events expire the information can be cleared from the wiki, replaced by more current events, and kept current very easily. An open community wiki would definitely benefit from the insights and input of the community.
I find it extremely difficult to go to someone else's website and make changes, even when they are allowed. Using Ancestry.com to do my family history is as close to making this type of change as I have come across. I still find it hard submitting name corrections even though I know the correct spelling. They do allow for corrections to be submitted (not made directly), although the actual changes probably come from Ancestry after careful consideration. This website definitely functions better with tighter control over corrections.
A group project within the library could definitely utilize the wiki. Without printing each and every email from each and every project member it would be impossible to keep in touch with everyone and make the 'correct' corrections. Editing on the wiki would keep the group's efforts better organized while keeping track of everything that has been done or needs to be done. The larger the project the more important a wiki becomes. I don't see any immediate uses for a wiki in the Interlibrary Loan Office as we are a very small department (2 full-time and 1 part-time), but there may be a time when it could be beneficial.
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