Wikipedia or "Don't worry, we'll change it"

Bart: So Dean Martin would show up at the last minute and do everything in just one take?
Homer: That’s right
Bart: But Wikipedia says he was passionate about rehearsal
Homer: Don’t you worry about Wikipedia, we’ll change it when we get home
(thanks to Vince of AskHerePA for the reference)


There is a lot of controversy over whether or not to use wikipedia or other similarly-unreliable resources when helping customers answer their questions.

Sadly, the world is not at a point where people with information needs come directly to librarians for help- we are usually last on the list. When people come to librarians for help, it is usually after having searched their own brains, their friends brains, and google's "brains." Make sure when you send resources to customers that they're the very best for the customer's needs (and if you wouldn't consider what you're able to find, "the very best" give them options for a referral if they need it).

Before recommending any resource to a customer, don't forget the basics of web evaluation:

• Accuracy- Who wrote the page? What is the purpose of the document? Is this person qualified to write this document?


• Authority of Web Documents- Check the domain of the document, what institution publishes this document?


• Objectivity- View any Web page as you would an infommercial on television. Ask yourself why was this written and for whom?
• 
  
• Currency- Is the information on the page outdated? Are there dead links?


• Coverage- If page requires special software to view the information, how much are you missing if you don't have the software? Is it free or is there a fee, to obtain the information?

Bottom line- Would YOU use this site/information to answer the same question for yourself? Would YOU put it in YOUR bibliography? If the answers to either of those is NO, rethink what you're sending to your customers. For more details of evaluating websites, check out the UMD website

Things wikipedia is excellent for:

1. getting your head around a subject/topic you have no idea about before starting to search to find resources for the customer ("'good enough' knowledge" as wikipedia's founder calls it)


2. information on pop-culture (where else will you find information on Wawa references in music and film?


3. Can't-seem-to-find-it-anywhere-else information. Sometimes info is just hard to track down. The user-generated (aka long-tail experts) content may lead you to another resource, a mention, or new language you hadn't throught to search before

You represent yourself, your library, AskUsNow! and the profession every time you help a customer- be your fabulous and smart librarian self and rock their socks off with excellent, relevat, information that answers their questions! :-)