continued Wiki......

3. This library has a large community presence and is not afraid to be on the cutting edge of marketing to their community. They have asked me to select a wiki that would be easy to get up and running and would be compatible with the quality of their website (http://www.library.lee-county.com ). They would like to introduce to the community a special therapy dog, Sir Walter Raleigh, who would be used in their children’s literacy program. Sir Raleigh, the gentle teddy bear standard poodle will visit the library on a regular basis and the children will read to him. Because Sir Raleigh has such great skills, he will also be used with the book mobile to deliver books with a warm loving woof to the homebound. So, the wiki needs to get detailed information to users about therapy dogs, be fun and appealing for kids, easy to design and update, and fit in with the quality of the rest of the LCPL web page. Because this is an experimental program, cost, at least for now was a concern. They wanted information to be shared between the children’s programs and outreach/bookmobile, and the community at large with the interaction with Sir Raleigh and using therapy dogs in the library. Reflecting shared library and community experiences with a therapy dog would give credibility for using them in the library. Other libraries that have used therapy dogs can also contribute their experiences, and links can be added to www.librarydogs.com and www.therapydogs.com . What better way to pull the community into the library than with a warm furry friend helping the young and old. The wiki could be expanded to include books relating to dogs for children and adults, events involving pets, caring and training of pets, and tied into Florida’s hurricane readiness for pets.
4. After exploring the different types of wikis on www.WikiMatrix.com , I decided the best route would be an open wiki. These use open source software and are free. They are Web-based, simple and can be used on any browser and any computer. Users can contribute to this wiki by simple using their library card number. This would help keep out unwanted editing of the wiki. The free wiki to be used is www.doowikis.com . This wiki is simple, quick, and has lots of fun applications. There is an excellent example at www.doowikis.com/?gclid=CPjTwrj23gECFRuenAodSWRTIA.com. When you get there go to Real-World Example and then to "this independent web" to see a great example of what the LCPL wiki could look like, with a little twiking of fur, tails, and woofs!