MediaWiki is free and very easy to set up/configure - it's what runs Wikipedia - though we haven't used it for anything like this. It's straightforward to limit access rights (involves editing a single file), so you don't need to worry about the public erasing your data or otherwise vandalising the wiki - just the staff who have edit rights :-). It doesn't have to be editable by everyone! And of course in the event of mistakes/deliberate errors, you can revert to previous versions.

*However* it lacks a fully-WYSIWYG editor, so you need to use simple text markers for some things (like lists, for example). Not a significant problem, though.

Best wishes

Pete
-- 
Peter M Gray
Museums Officer
East Lothian Council

www.eastlothianmuseums.org
www.oureastlothian.org


-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Harry Heiss
Sent: 20 February 2008 18:38
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Using Wiki for a corporate history database

My organization maintains a database of 'significant corporate events' that is used by our employees and administrators when they need quick answers to corporate history questions.  Typical inquiries the database is intended to answer might be, When was a particular program implemented?  Or, in what year was a product discontinued?  Or, when was John Doe appointed as deputy commissioner? 

The database currently contains about 1000 text-only records.  Nothing fancy.  It's our 'first look here' source, and is not intended to give in-depth or polished essays needed to respond to inquiries received from the general public or by Treasury Department executives.  The database is maintained internally on our computer network, and presently is available only to employees.  Eventually, though, we would like to make a sub-set of the database available to the general public via our corporate website. 

But the database as it currently is has problems.  And some are really big problems. 

The software that 'runs' the database has limited search capability, does not allow name or subject authorities, has no citations for the source of the information, and it has impractical field length restrictions.  And now that the time is at hand for me to expand the database, I also want to upgrade the software.  I particularly want to remove myself as the 'gatekeeper' so that any employee can enter and modify data, within guidelines established and maintained by the Archives. 

My question to the listserv is, can anyone suggest a particular off-the-shelf or public domain software that I should investigate? 

I am especially curious about using a Wiki collaborative approach to building and maintaining a database of significant historical events.  Has anyone within the archival/library/museum community already done this?  If so, which WikiMatrix would you recommend?  Are there concerns about using Wiki that I should be aware of?  Particularly if the database is eventually made available to the general public via our corporate website?  The latter is a concern that is particularly bothersome to some of our administrators, all of whom are essentially my bosses.  So I want to 'do this right." 

I'm a nerd--but not necessarily a computer nerd--so if I've not fully explained this, please feel free to contact me privately off-list.  Otherwise, post your comments to the list for others to read and share.  And BTW, yes, this has been cross-posted to the Archives listserv. 

Thanks for your help and advice. 

Harry 



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