Wikis for specialist groups

I could imagine that Wikis could be a very valuable tool to enable participation statewide for specialist library groups. There are a number of specialist groups endorsed by the MPLA such as the Document Delivery Group, the Multicultural Group, Home Library Service Group etc which meet regularly in the Sydney metropolitan area. Obviously this would limit attendance for those libraries not located geographically within convenient travelling distance. Wikis would provide the opportunity for members of the groups to interact in current projects, without the need to attend every meeting. For example, I am involved with the Home Library Service Group and a few years ago we did a survey of Home Library Services in NSW. This was a very long drawn out process which could have been streamlined by setting up a Wiki. The survey data from the Libraries represented at the meetings could be set up as the original data. Notification would then be sent to all libraries statewide to contribute to the Wiki entering the information relevant for their individual service. Their may be a need to set up group membership with an invitation key to control access to the Wiki. Most groups are restricted to quarterly meetings each year which seriously limits the projects that can be undertaken. The idea of interactive sites, Wikis, Blogs etc could allow greater membership with regular participation throughout NSW from all members, and enable the group to commit to more projects without the need for more meetings.

RSS Feeds

I have always found it very useful when I log on to the internet at home and the internet provider has a wide variety of current information available for me to access. Anything from current news nationally or internationally, weather updates, latest gossip, great travel deals etc. All this at your finger tips without the need to search. Really this is the quintessential internet for the average person who is always busy and also for those who are not comfortable finding their way around the net and need access to information quickly and easily.

RSS Feeds would enable library and council websites to promote services and events and to obtain a captive audience, so to speak, with an 'active' site that is constantly changing with the latest and greatest information. They would facilitate information access for the public in a much more user friendly manner, and perhaps gain more regular interest. It could also be a way to bring services to the fore that are somewhat lower profile. I am involved with aged services within our library and would be very keen to find ways to encourage more seniors in the community to become actively involved in the library and more aware of what is available to them. We have seniors activities all the time that can be listed along with multicultural activities and functions, childrens activities, author talks, book clubs, internet training sessions. Enough library events to be archived as an interesting blog attached to our council site one that could be accessed by the public quickly and easily. The RSS feeds are already set up to provide this access now we just need to set up the blogs. The feeds also allow our site to be an easy reference for patrons who want to access the library system quickly and easily to renew or reserve items.

Flexibility

As you can see by this photo learning new things can be very challenging and at times seems almost impossible. I wanted to find an example of a photo to demonstrate the difficulties one faces when learning a new skill. For this purpose Flickr is an excellent resource to access a range of pictures on almost any topic, no matter how obscure or specific. A very useful tool for locating a photo or picture needed for some of the rather challenging school assignments we are faced with on a daily basis.