What if we lost it?

Teachers, librarians, and students--just about everyone who spends any time online--knows about Wikipedia. When searching on almost any topic, it is the source that pops up with a relevant article. But will it always be around? An article in American Libraries calls attention to the challenges that Wikipedia faces. Rumor has it that the organization of Wikipedia is becoming more bureaucratic (not surprising in any group) and, although funding drives have been successful so far, depending on voluntary giving is always chancy. Now that people have grown used to having an online source to answer almost any question about facts and figures, how would they survive without it? Print encyclopedias are rarely available and no satisfactory model for paying for online access to reference tools has been very successful. Perhaps individuals and libraries ought to consider increasing support for Wikipedia. Imperfect though some of its articles are, the work as a whole is of great value to us all.