What’s it for?

The bookstack is a wiki, and by that we mean it’s a repository of knowledge accessed by LSH’s website. The design and structure of it has been provided by an app, a copy of which has been downloaded to our own server and is therefore private within the bounds of the strength of our server’s digital security and the settings we give it. Essentially, it’s ours and ours alone and no one is getting in that we don’t allow. Much of it will be public on the site because that will be in LSH’s favour, mainly for recruitment and information sharing, but parts like admin and personal profiles will be member only content.

We need this sort of thing for many reasons, it’s very typical of hackspaces to have some kind of wiki. This is because it makes the information more accessible for everyone, especially newer or shyer people. Instead of the information being kept in one particularly clever person’s head, it’s on a web page that you can go read without having to wait for anyone to be available to get your answer. It also means that no information about LSH evaporates when members move on and no one is obligated to be continually available to provide it. Knowledge that exists in many people’s minds is more powerful, after all.

You might seek out the bookstack for many reasons, such as learning LSH’s rules and guidelines, arranging inductions, finding instructions on how to use equipment, finding tutorials/specs/patterns for projects, or reading meeting minutes.

You might add information to the bookstack, like inventory lists, equipment instructions, tutorials/specs/patterns, and something about yourself on your personal profile.

Before you proceed

A knowledge repository is a good thing, and should remain as community owned and operated as LSH is, but that does come with some responsibilities. This book outlines the Etiquette, Best Practices, Structure, and Roles involved in the bookstack, please give it a good read before participating.