Wikity Wikity Wikity Whack

This endeavor was actually not whack at all, but it's hard to pass up on a Kriss Kross "Jump" reference, and in all fairness, this class has made me feel a little backwards and confused, much like the clothing of this dynamic rap duo.  That being said, here's the rundown:

Forsyth County Library
Type: Public
Branches: 3, with another planned to open in the next 2 years
Population: 175,000+, consisting of people of all ages
Services: print and eBooks, materials available for every age group (bilingual, graphic novels, periodicals, music, DVD collection, audio books, etc.) streaming video collection, story time or book club for all cohorts, Facebook, website, and blog pages

Wiki goal:  To encourage patrons to feel as if they are "part of the library's progress" by providing them with a virtual platform for interacting with other consumers as well as staff through discussions and link-sharing, as well as provide consistent feedback to help keep the facility current and meeting the needs of the community.  

Wiki Requirements: Easy for new users including staff and patrons, so must be in WYSIWYG format.  Free and open source sharing (that can be manually moderated by staff), and page history available.

I compared 4 wikis, Bananadance, Mindtouch, MojoMojo, and WetPaint.  Mindtouch seemed to be the best choice, because it had the most specific information of the four, and appeared to be the most versatile.  For example, Bananadance was quickly ruled out because it was only in the beta phase, and much of the cells describing WetPaint were blank or vague.  Mindtouch clearly stated that it was useful for technical or non-technical users, and was the only one that was succint when listing the operating systems it could be utilized on (Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.). It met all the requirements including WYSIWYG editing, open source sharing, and page history available, as well as contained some extra bonuses such as keeping track of most popular pages, providing a calendar so patrons could keep up with events, and including a plugin for a mobile application.  Overall, the versatility of Mindtouch seems like it will be the most useful in allowing patrons to contribute to the growth of the Forsyth County Public Library, and would hopefully help them feel as if they had access to this vital community center, even remotely.