Wikis, Blikis and You AALL Annual Meeting, Program K-4 Beyond the Blog: RSS, Wikis and Blikis Presented by Debbie Ginsberg Electronic Resources Librarian IIT Downtown Campus Library (Chicago-Kent College of Law)

Is this a Wiki?

What is a Wiki? A wiki … is a web application that allows users to add content, as on an Internet forum, but also allows anyone to edit the content. [cont.]

What is a Wiki? Wiki also refers to the collaborative software used to create such a website[.] The name was based on the Hawaiian term wiki wiki, meaning "quick" or "informal". From:

The Wikipedia One of the largest and best known wikis

Researching with Wikis Find background information Locate useful sources Research current issues

JurisPedia Includes law from several countries From:

Research caveats May not be complete, accurate, up-to-date Unknown resource – can you trust wikis? Is there a relevant wiki?

LawSchool Wiki A great idea: share community information about the law school. But it is no longer updated. From:

Libraries use wikis Teach bibliographic instruction Answer reference questions Provide other library services (e.g. ereserves)

Butler WikiRef This wiki reviews references resources From:

Library caveats Librarians must provide content Patrons may not be familiar with wikis Wikis suffer from the same problems as other online forums  Spam  Vandalism  In-fighting

Create your own Wiki Self-hosted  User installs and maintains the software  Most require MySQL and PHP or Pearl  Customizable Web-hosted  Easy to set up  Not as customizable

Self-hosted software MediaWiki – used by Wikipedia ( DoKuWiki ( MoinMoin – popular wiki engine ( (uses Python)

Wikitravel uses MediaWiki From:

Web-hosted software XWiki – a free wiki service ( WebHome) WebHome JotSpot – a for-pay wiki service (in beta) (

Example of a wiki editing interface Note the syntax on the right From:

What is a bliki? A Bliki (also known as a WikiLog, WikiWeblog, Wikiblog, or Bloki), is a blog with wiki support. This means that after (or before) an article is posted to the blog, it can be edited, either by anyone or by some group of authorized users. From:

Tao Of Mac Some links are external, others are internal pages with additional explanation From:

Wrap Up Lots of wikis, and a few blikis, on tech and other subject areas, but few on law Few library wikis or blikis Can law librarians take the initiative?  Legal research wiki  Library services wikis  Intranets

Useful and Interesting Wikis Meatball ( bin/mb.pl) Includes a list of the biggest wikishttp:// bin/mb.pl Wikinews ( Wikipedia ( Largest and most comprehensive wikihttp://

Law and Library Wikis ALA Chicago 2005 Wiki ( e=Main_Page) e=Main_Page Lawrence Lessig's Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace ( Youth Rights Wiki ( e_of_Contents) e_of_Contents

References Wikis at Work: How does an IT consulting firm bring wikis into the business loop?, Sebastian Rupley, PC Magazine, January 2005, p. 90 Using a Wiki for Documentation and Collaborative Authoring, Michael Angeles, Nov. 28, 2004, available at ( Quickiwiki, Swiki, Twiki, Zwiki and the Plone Wars, by David Mattison, Searchers, April 2003, p. 32 More at