Crowdsourcing and the idea of a "Sharium"

Finally, this semester, I feel that all of the information I've been ingesting since I began graduate school is starting to come together and form the beginnings of a cohesive understanding of librarianship and the field of LIS.  All three of my classes this semester seem to be overlapping in some respects, which solidifies the impression of a general body of related information.  Many of the ideas presented in my Digital Libraries class are particularly relevant to, if not directly related to, Emerging Trends in Technology.

One example of this confluence is the idea of a "sharium".  In Emerging Tech., we have been discussing Web 2.0.... what it is, what differentiates it from Web 1.0, etc.  A predominant characteristic of Web 2.0 is the idea that it harnesses the "collective intelligence".  One particular way this is accomplished is through "crowdsourcing", which is when the collective mind of users is mobilized to solve a particular problem or achieve a particular task.  This practice coincides with the idea of a "sharium" (introduced in my Digital Libraries class), where people collaborate to help solve information problems.  Both can include user contributions to library or museum content, item descriptions, and, in the case of digital libraries, even the addition of items to a collection.  This kind of potential user participation in the creation of knowledge is exciting... it feels a bit like a science fiction, futuristic vision of what knowledge creation and sharing and a real "collective intelligence" could be.  However, it also raises some concerns with the authenticity and reliability of information.  When non-professional, non-scholarly users are permitted to add content to library and museum collections, the reputation and integrity of the institution may be compromised.  Research on crowdsourcing has shown that information provided by users is almost always accurate, but even the smallest amount of inaccurate information provided by a respected and trusted institution may call their authority into question.  Despite the potential questions that these ideas raise, the thought that, through collaboration, they both may facilitate the creation of knowledge is exciting.