I love Wikipedia and use it all the time. That's not to say that it doesn't need to be used with a good deal of care. It is to say that for a lot of routine information it is a useful, reliable, and (most important) massively comprehensive resource.
Other wikis I've seen also have their uses, even library wikis. For instance, I could easily see the Howard County Library and the Howard County Historical Society collaborating on a wiki that focuses on the history of Howard County.
However, there is a catch.
Anybody who sets up a wiki has to look beyond how cool the end product can be and take a cold hard look at how much work is involved in creating and maintaining a wiki.
A good rule of thumb is to set up wikis when you're going to have to do the work anyway. For instance most libraries need a staff procedures manual. Since you need this anyway a wiki is a good way to create it. Once created, it is also much easier to update and disseminate than a paper manual could ever hope to be.
Another catch, though. Make sure you always keep and disseminate a paper based manual that will tell you what to do when the computers go down.
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