Librarian Perception of Wikipedia: Threats or Opportunities for Librarianship?

摘要

The rapid rise of Wikipedia as an information sourcehas placed the traditional role of librarians as in-formation gatekeepers and guardians under scrutinywith much of the professional literature suggestingthat librarians are polarized over the issue of whetherWikipedia is a useful reference tool. This qualitativestudy examines the perceptions and behaviours ofNational Library Board (NLB) of Singapore librari-ans with regards to information seeking and usageof Wikipedia. It finds that instead of polarized atti-tudes, most librarians, although cautious about usingWikipedia in their professional capacity, hold a rangeof generally positive attitudes towards the online en- cyclopaedia, believing that it has a valid role to playin the information seeking of patrons today. This isheartening because it suggests the existence withinthe librarian population of attitudes that can be tappedto engage constructively with Wikipedia. Three ofthese in particular are briefly discussed at the end ofthe article: Wikipedia's ability to appeal to the so-called "digital natives," its role as a source of non-Western information, and its potential to enable a re-vitalization of the role of librarians as public in-tellectuals contributing to a democratic informationcommons.