And being able to open the wiki up for editing by class participants and other instructors is so handy. During the “taste of 2.0″ class that I teach, each participant creates a wiki page to get a feel for how they work and how easy it is to edit. They’re also welcome to add to and edit the other pages on the wiki. That’s a kind of trust that I wouldn’t have imagined having 10 years ago.

Wikis are easy to create, but do take a fair bit of tending! Mine is very much like my garden: a bit sprawling, a bit out of control, weeds here and there and gems that get hidden.  I would advise anyone starting a wiki to think through what they want the wiki to accomplish, who will be contributing to it and who will be the “master gardeners” taking responsibility for keeping it from getting too disorganized.

It’s also important to set up some initial structure to help contributors and readers find their way around the wiki. Even if you just put up some pages with headings and subheadings suggesting what might be added and where, that will help your contributors overcome that ‘blank page-itis’ that we all suffer from now and then.

One of my favorite library wiki projects is from the Ipswich Library in Queensland, Australia.  Remember When : Memories of Ipswich is “a collaborative, web based story writing project by Ipswich seniors in partnership with the Ipswich Library”.  Such a wonderful  way to for the library and participants to create on online collection of  memories, stories and photos from the town’s past.