Part IV: Finding a Wiki for a Library

Paul M. Adams Memorial Library at Rocky Mountain College Wiki

• Should be noted that I am not associated with this library other than the fact that I graduated with an undergraduate degree from Rocky Mountain College in 2000. Facts listed below are accurate, but everything listed below with the wiki is for an MLIS Assignment.

Adams Library is located on the campus of Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Montana. Rocky is a private liberal arts institution wit over 25 undergraduate majors and several less traditional academic opportunities including an aviation program, equestrian program, and a physician assistant program.

The library serves a small population of about 1050 which includes a student body of about 900 and 150 faculty and staff members. With such a small student body, the library’s staffs of three permanent full time employees and 2 student workers are able to offer a personalized approach to their patrons and the community. Adams Library has 85,000 titles, 100,000 volumes, 200 periodical subscriptions, 1000 dvds, 20 database subscriptions, and a unique extensive collection of geological materials. The library expenses are limited and they have an annual budget of only $245,000.

The goal of the wiki is to provide an alternative collaboration resource for other libraries, the library staff, patrons, and the community. For example, Adams’ Library is interested in providing access and information about their extensive geological materials to interested parties in the field. They are also interested in how a wiki can be used as a resource between the library staff and the student body/community. As this is their first attempt at using a wiki, the Rocky staff requires the wiki be easily used, easily adaptable to their special needs, and aesthetically appealing.

I used the Wiki Choice Wizard located at www.wikimatrix.com. By following the simple steps, the wizard narrowed down my search drastically to 11 potential wikis. After careful consideration, I chose to go with MindTouch. This wiki was inexpensive yet has support if necessary, it offers the ability to change and alter to user specific needs, many media features, and prominent security features.