Wikis

I posted my opinion on the sandbox, and basically said that wikis are a good place to start when you have absolutely no idea where to start when researching a subject. I never, ever use it as a source in and of itself. To see why, go to

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_did_Edgar_Allan_Poe_die

and after reading the "answer" you'll understand. Woe to the person who looks on a wiki for medical advice!

I read some of the library wikis, and I do like the idea of book reviews and opinions. However, if it's open to the public, a librarian needs to monitor the site to correct grammar and deal with inappropriate entries. Yes, one more task for the librarian. Since I've started this post, I've been interrupted four times. You get the picture.

I would really like to see a librarian access only community wiki. It would be nice for people to think of the library wiki as a place to start when they need info about local government, election information, post offices, history, etc. That is a valuable service!

If you want to search for a wiki on a subject, but don't want wikipedia, in google, just use the inurl:wiki command, and it will pull up some wikis--if the site has the sense to include "wiki" in it's url.