Well, Wikis were not something completely foreign to me (I have been coming around to their use as a research tool slowly but surely), but up until now I had never "participated" in one. Logging into the 23 Things Wiki showed me just how easy it is to edit a page. This ease of access is still probably the one thing that concerns me about wikis. I am all for collaboration, but I must admit that I am concerned about the consequences of publishing "anonymouusly." Particularly in a school setting, I do have some reservations about opening up a webpage to let anyone say just about anything they want (it is MY rear end that is on the line, professionally).
In looking at the library-based Wikis offered, I guess I was most intrigued by the Princeton Library Wiki. If I were to use one in my job - this would probably be the one most like the one I would offer. I have always thought about having student-written book reviews on my library website but have always had trouble with the logistics of such a venture. Maybe a wiki is the way to go. I still have some concerns about security - but maybe I just have to trust a bit more. A lot of this will have to come down to my school's internet/computer usage policies, so I will have to wait until the fall to find out how feasible it is.
As for the great "Wikipedia as a research tool debate," I have to admit that I am coming around on this one. I admit, when I was teaching high school English, I cringed at the thought of my students automatically turning to Wikipedia as their main (if not only) source of information. After taking a class on research this past semester, I began to see that Wikipedia is not the haphazard free-for-all I thought it was. Now that I have had a bit more experience with it, I have come to find that Wikipedia can be a great starting point for research. The key here being that the student still has to go a bit deeper to find all the information he/she needs (as well as to verify what he/she found). In the end, I think Wikipedia is a very valuable tool (when used properly) and that wikis themselves may be something that I incorporate into my own job when I find the proper place for it.
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