Submissions/Libraries and Wikipedia: Global perspectives and opportunities

This is an accepted submission for Wikimania 2017.

Submission no. 5024 - G2

Title of the submission

Libraries and Wikipedia: Global perspectives and opportunities

Type of submission (lecture, panel, tutorial/workshop, roundtable discussion, lightning talk, poster, birds of a feather discussion)

Panel

Authors of the submission

Mohsen Salek, Tamás Mészöly, Jake Orlowitz, Merrilee Proffitt, Danielle Robichaud, Monika Sengul-Jones, Alex Stinson

Language of presentation

English

E-mail address

jonesmoclc.org - panel submission main point of contact

Usernames: Mardetanha, Samat, Ocaasi, Dnllnd, Monikasj, Merrilee, Sadads

Countries of origin

Iran - Mohsen

Hungary - Tamás Mészöly

USA - Jake Orlowitz, Merrilee Proffitt, Monika Sengul-Jones, & Alex Stinton

Canada - Danielle Robichaud

Affiliation, if any (organisation, company etc.)

Affiliations of our panelists include: WebJunction, OCLC, UC San Diego, University of Waterloo, and Wikimedia Hungary; one of the projects that will be described in this panel presentation has received funding from the Wikimedia Foundation. The perspectives of the panelists are their own.


Personal homepage or blog

Abstract (up to 300 words to describe your proposal)

Libraries and Wikipedia intersect in many significant areas. Like Wikipedia, libraries are committed to providing free and open access to information for the communities they are embedded within. Libraries also provide access to many sources cited in Wikipedia. More importantly, libraries work with diverse communities and house diverse perspectives and histories. Lynchpins to access and cornerstone to open societies, this session highlights past, present, and future initiatives between libraries and Wikimedia projects in English, Persian, and Hungarian. The session demonstrates existing formations of alliance-building and sets the stage for conversation on future intersections.

Panelists:

• Mohsen will speak about Persian-language Wikipedians’ efforts to cooperate with cultural institutions in Iran, specifically describing how a partnership was developed with the Iranian National Library. Mohsen will also describe the ways that the global Wikimedia movement and the Wikipedia Library project has helped the Persian-language Wikimedia community to create better and more resourceful articles;

• Tamás Mészöly has contributed to the Hungarian and English-language Wikimedia movements since 2007. He has built a wide range of partnerships between the movement and governmental and non-governmental entities in Hungary, including GLAM institutes and libraries. His presentation offers insights into the general situation of these partnerships, shares success stories and best practices from previous years, and presents typical difficulties and strategies to solve them;

• Jake Orlowitz is an English-language editor who has been involved in the Wikimedia movement since 2010 on a range of projects and initiatives, including the Wikipedia Library. On this panel, he will join members of the Wikipedia Library User Group to describe the status, aims, and opportunities available for the group;

• Danielle Robichaud is a Canadian archivist who edits the English-language Wikipedia and who served as McMaster University’s first Wikipedia Visiting Scholar. She will present on how information professionals and libraries can use Wikipedia in order to improve the visibility of special collections and archival holdings while working to diversify the scope of Wikipedia content;

• Monika Sengul-Jones & Merrilee Proffitt are both editors in the English-language Wikipedia. On this panel they will speak about the past and present state of collaboration between public library staff and Wikipedia in the United States. They will describe the challenges and opportunities that are coming out of a recently funded grant project they are working on to engage public library staff in the U.S. with Wikipedia. They will also moderate the panel;

• Alex Stinson has participated in various editing and outreach projects with the Wikimedia Movement. He will participate in this panel as a supporter of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions Opportunity Papers and describe the outcomes of the research project, specifically describing case studies and future opportunities for collaboration between Wikipedia and libraries globally (see the papers);

What will attendees take away from this session?

Attendees will learn about past and present initiatives between libraries and Wikipedia globally, with specific examples from four linguistic // geographical settings. The presentation will describe strategies, opportunities, and challenges in collaborating with different library types across these settings.

Theme of presentation

GLAM

For workshops and discussions, what level is the intended audience?

Beginner, all are welcome!

Length of session (if other than 25 minutes, specify how long)

90 minutes -- Each panelist will make a 10-12 minute presentation, then we will have about 20-25 minutes for questions and discussions

Will you attend Wikimania if your submission is not accepted?

The USA based panelists will likely be attending, however the Canadian, Iranian and Hungarian panelists will only be attend if our panel is accepted and they receive funding.

Slides or further information (optional)

Merrilee Proffitt and Monika Sengul-Jones
Tamás Mészöly (pdf)
Mohsen
Alex Stinson
Jake Orlowitz

Special requests

Is this Submission a Draft or Final?

This is a Completed submission for Wikimania 2017 ready to be reviewed by a member of the Programme Committee.

Interested attendees

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