I really liked Princeton Public Library’s Book Lovers Wiki. I see this as a great tool to get the public involved with their library, to have the users publicize the resources that the library system has available, and to boost usage of those resources. We have so many customers ask us, “What do you have that would be good to read?” This enables the community to answer those questions for library staff and allows customers to browse the wiki content at their leisure. While the librarian at the reference desk tries to instantly think what this one particular customer likes to read and what items might match those interests, this wiki is organized in a more user friendly manner than Novelist and allows the customer to know what other readers thought of the items. At our branch we have a notebook with entries from our two monthly book discussion groups about the books they have read. This is a very popular tool for both other community book groups looking for monthly selection ideas and for individuals. I think something like Princeton’s Book Lovers Wiki would be really well received.
I also liked St. Joseph County Public Library Subject Guides. I think that this wiki is a great tool to help people in searching for their informational needs. People know what they seek, but they frequently do not have a clear idea of the search terms to use to get to this information. This subject guide wiki has solid format and good depth of content. I tried a search on “careers.” I saw the topic “jobs”; but many people don’t want a “job”—rather, they want a “career.” I wanted to see how well the search feature would work, and I was pleased with the results. This wiki is another great library tool to enhance the customer's searching experience.
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