[Web4lib] Problems with Wikipedia

[Steven Jeffery]

Actually, this is somewhat incorrect. While many times larger than an  
encyclopedia, Wikipedia does not plan to cover every topic. There is a  
specific policy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:N) covering what will  
and will not be included in the database. In essence, they DO believe  
that some topics are more worthy of documentation than others, but  
that threshold is lower than that of an encyclopedia.

Steven Jeffery

Quoting Jesse Ephraim <JEphraim at ci.southlake.tx.us>:

>> Now you are implicitly saying that *other*
>> sources (printed books) *are* inherently reliable.
>> But are they?
>
> That is why I have a problem with the concept of "authoritative"
> sources.
>
>> Maybe the real benefit of Wikipedia is that it forces us to ask this
> question.
>
> Precisely.
>
> Wikipedia has several strengths. New information is added quickly, and
> articles go through a peer review process (of sorts).  It is a great
> place to find other resources, and covers topics for which there ARE no
> "authoritative" resources.  It also does away with the assumption that
> some topics are more worthy of documentation than others, which is an
> ongoing problem (to my way of thinking) in the development of reference
> works (especially encyclopedias).
>
> Jesse Ephraim
>
> Adult Services / Reference Librarian
> Southlake Public Library
> 1400 Main Street, Suite 130
> Southlake, TX  76092
> (817) 748-8247
> jephraim at ci.southlake.tx.us
>
>
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>

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