Thing 8: Wikis

I've used wikis in the past--I've added some information to articles on Wikipedia (with proper citation of course!). The reference staff at Memorial Library also have a wiki with information about current projects, common questions asked at the reference desk, and other resources useful for working at the reference or information desk. Wikis are a great way to collaborate with colleagues or community members to bring information together in one place. Some ideas for wikis in your own library--creating a library wiki for staff members so that they have one searchable place to go for library policies and procedures and for help with common questions; creating a local history wiki for your community or area; creating a wiki on how to do a certain type of research--similar to a subject guide in academic libraries--as an example, a wiki would be supremely useful for someone trying to do genealogy for the first time.

However, one specific wiki, Wikipedia is a serious time drain--one can spend hours clicking around and learning about all kinds of things. This web comic from xkcd explains it all:

http://xkcd.com/214/

I tried to contribute to the Brevard County wiki, but the server for their wiki seemed to be down--I was going to add some of my favorite blogs to their "Our Favorite Blogs" page.

Does your library use wikis? How do they use them--are they primarily for customers or for library staff? Are there any wikis out there that you think serve as a good example for good library practice?