Finding a Wiki for a Library (Module 1, Part V.)

Goal of the Wiki

The goal of the Northlake-Barbara Loar Library Wiki is to provide a community subject forum (example:  http://www.libraryforlife.org/subjectguides/index.php/Main_Page).  Subjects covered by this local forum Wiki will include:  local authors, local author collections, local newspapers and news sources, resources for internationals, local arts and entertainment, community organizations and resources, voter information, and online reference sources.

Library Main Characteristics - Location & Population

The Northlake-Barbara Loar Library (http://www.dekalblibrary.org/branches/northlake.html) is a public library and is a branch of the Dekalb County Public Library System ((http://www.dekalblibrary.org/).  The Northlake-Barbara Loar Library serves all the population in the 30341 zip code, an area in northeast Atlanta, GA.  This area covers the Northlake Mall area, part of the city of Chamblee just inside the I-285 perimeter, and includes the Mercer University Atlanta campus on Flowers Road South.  The estimated population of the library’s service area is approximately 27,000.  The greatest number of residents are in the 23 to 35 age range.  The 2011 average price of a home for the area served by the Northlake-Barbara Loar Branch Library is $190,000.  Approximately 40% of the served population identify themselves as white, 30% identify themselves as Hispanic, 12.5% identify themselves as Black, 12.5% identify themselves as Asian, and 5% identify themselves as “other” or “two or more races.”  51% of the residents are apartment renters.  (Data source:  http://www.city-data.com/zips/30341.html)

Library Main Characteristics - Services

The Northlake-Barbara Loar Library contains a community meeting room and seminar/study rooms.  This branch library makes available copiers, wifi, internet access computers as well as computers specifically designated for children and teens.  Voter registration is also offered at the library.  The library’s collections include an adult learning collection, books for all ages, current newspapers and magazines, juvenile large print, and adult large print books (Data source:  http://www.dekalblibrary.org/branches/northlake.html).

Library Main Characteristics - Recent Expansion / Renovation

In June 2009 an expansion / renovation project was completed on the Northlake-Barbara Loar Library.  Thanks to this expansion the Northlake-Barbara Loar Library went from 10,000 square feet to 15,000 square feet; the collection was enlarged from 49,000 volumes to 51,000 volumes; a youth service area / teen area was added; an audiovisual collection and magazine collection area were added; and ten public use computers were added bringing the total number of public use computers up to twenty-four (Data source:  http://www.dekalblibrary.org/branches/new-libraries/northlake.html).

Requirements for a Wiki

The Northlake-Barbara Loar Library requires a Wiki that is no or low cost, is easy to use by both library staff and patrons, has a language interface option, and has support available.  To get started, the library will use free, open source software relying on the open source software’s community for support.  As the Wiki project develops, commercial options may be considered.

Wiki Search

For this project the web site WikiMatrix (http://www.wikimatrix.org/) was consulted and their Choice Wizard was used (http://www.wikimatrix.org/wizard.php).  The following selections were made:  a page history is needed, WYSIWYG is crucial, commercial support is not needed, language interface is needed, a hosted software service is needed, the library needs its own domain supported, and a branding option is needed.  After inputting these options, four Wiki software products were presented for comparison:  Confluence, MindTouch, Wikispace, and ZohoWiki.  After studying the WikiMedia Comparison Table and doing some online research, the MindTouch Wiki product is recommended.

And the Winner is . . . 

The first choice for the library's Wiki software is MindTouch because it meets all the requirements of the library and has support for many languages (twenty-six) including Spanish and Asian languages.  It also has strong search abilities including searching content.  For the Northlake-Barbara Loar Library language support is important because of the large Asian population served by the library.  A close second choice for Wiki software use is Wikispace.  Wikispace meets all the requirements of the library and has a low cost, ad free option.  However, Wikispace only supports eight languages, none of them Asian languages, and only filenames are searchable.  Note – on the MindTouch web site no free version is readily presented.  However, after a brief online chat with a MindTouch company representative, a free version link was presented from the SourceForge web site (http://sourceforge.net/).