I developed a wiki for my college library using wetpaint. I went to the WikiMatrix and compared the different wikis. I used the guide and answered questions to find the best one for my library. I narrowed it down to 19. Then down to 2. I was looking for ones that indicated they were for education. Wetpaint said it had ad-free for education and unlimited storage so I chose to use it.
The main characteristics of my library are:
1. We are a technical library and my collection is based on the 120 programs provided by the college.
2. We presently have 2500 students, but are looking to increase to 3000 for Fall. Our students' ages range from 16-65 with the majority being in the 20-25 age range. The younger students are ones that are dual-enrolled through their high-schools. Most of these students are in construction or agribusiness area.
3. We are a mid-sized college when compared to the other technical colleges in Georgia.
4. My budget is $65,000 per year. Most of that money is spent for online resources, GALILEO, Britannica, ProQuest for Agriculture, NetLibrary, EBSCO online Periodicals, etc.
5. The library daily usage has grown from 300 per week to over 1200 patrons per week since I started two years ago. We have a lot of students using the library computer labs and study areas.
6. The library was moved from its original location to this one which was a machine metal shop classroom. We still have the large rolling doors. It houses 38 computers for student use.
The goal of my wiki is to get feedback from the patrons about the library and its services. The wiki is also a way to inform them about events sponsored by the library.
The library requirements for the wiki were a page history, WYSIWYG (many of my users are not tech saavy), subscribe to a hosted service. We didn't need commercial support (my IT department and CIS instructors are pretty saavy), interface language, or corporate branding. We were looking for a wiki that would allow use to create, collect, and organize content for our library events and opinions from our patrons.
The wiki address is:
http://otclibrarymusings.wetpaint.com
From Automation to Insight
9 hours ago
Wow! You seem to be really on the ball about using all this new prices of technology. I may have to come to you for help in the future if I need it. I am very impressed with your work so far.
ReplyDeleteThanks! It has to come in large gulps! I work M-Th 11 hours. I do my class work on Fridays. I am usually not home on weekends because my daughter is in training with track and field- she throws hammer, discus, weight, shotput. She is trying to get an athletic scholarship to throw in college. So, I tend to be sporatic with my learning.
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