Wikis are cool. Shhhhh...don't tell anyone...but one of the first places I go to learn about something new is Wikipedia. I go there, learn some of the lingo about any given topic, and then can go out and find "good" resources for "real" research.
I am proud to say I'm a small, infrequent contributor to the Library Success wiki (find it at www.libsuccess.org) It's fun stuff. I love practical, real world advice about libraries. For the purpose of 23 Things, I logged in and edited one small piece of info on the "Weeding Library collections" page.
One of the things I wish existed (either at libsuccess.org or somewhere else) is a giant clearinghouse of library policies. I have a project coming up this semester where I have to contribute to a library wiki....maybe that's a starting point!
I don't think every single library in the world needs a wiki. However, they are VERY powerful tools. Another project idea: (and some places have things that approximate this) is a town history wiki that includes historical information about buildings in town organized by address. (the Davis, CA wiki has something like I'm imagining at http://daviswiki.org/Historic_Places) It would be useful for homeowners, homebuyers, historians, real estate agents, city officials, etc. Right now you have to dig through dusty old city directories in the archives to find out who lived at your address before you. If (you or) someone entered info into the homes wiki, it would be there for the world to see! People could post up information about the address at which they grew up, or the address they live in now. It would be a sort of big knowledge managment project regarding home history.
So that's my dream. BIG project - but harnessing the power of an entire townspeople could certainly make it (or some version of it) a reality!
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