For the public, the St Joseph County type topical subject guide for promoting library resources and services has potential. Highlighting services, collections and specific titles, databases, and future programs to in-library users and to the remote users (perhaps via e-newsletters links, chat, etc.) could help with in-house library instruction for specific topics as well as market the library. How-to documents or tutorials on tech topics or on software applications could assist the novice trying to learn the basics of the new technology.
Access to customer and staff reviews of materials may appeal to some of our customers. It is a way to share the wealth of information from our strongest readers’ advisors throughout the system. Perhaps this could eventually replace print booklists. At the same time as providing readers’ advisory to both remote and in-house users, there is the opportunity to market book related library or community events and news. I do worry about the malicious content when it is opened to public editing. Having had experience with this recently! Yet requiring login and passwords will lessen participation. Princeton’s site requires registration and does not appear to have many active contributors. Would it be another Virtual Book Club where the entire workload falls on staff to keep it going!
The staff oriented wiki could be used for online manuals and training documents with linking to items now scattered on the WAN, memos, management group minutes, etc. Wikis could play a role in providing online instruction, for example on tips for using research databases and other brief tutorials. It certainly is worth considering. Of course that means one more thing for staff to view, create and/or maintain regularly to make it a useful tool. It could be equivalent to maintaining a large website.
Certainly this is a topic for further investigation!
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