Submissions/The Source of the Source: Strengthening the Wikipedia Community in Academic Libraries

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

Submission no. 5034 - G2

Title of the submission: The Source of the Source: Strengthening the Wikipedia Community in Academic Libraries

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

Author of the submission

Jenn Young

Language of presentation

English

E-mail address

jennifer.young{{@}}emory.edu

Username

Jennifersyoung

Country of origin

United States

Affiliation, if any (organisation, company etc.)

Emory University

Personal homepage or blog

Abstract (up to 300 words to describe your proposal)

Libraries have an important role to play in providing resources for Wikipedia articles as well as educating their patrons about Wikipedia as an information source. For academic libraries, Wikipedia is a controversial resource because of negative associations in the academic community with the quality and reliability of the information in its articles. Yet as the most popular online general reference work, it’s not something academic libraries can afford to ignore (nor should they). Wikipedia is often where students start their research process, so librarians need to be knowledgeable about how it works and how it can be used to find high-quality information.

The focus of this session is to share experiences in navigating the academic response to Wikipedia, particularly for academic library staff. Panelists (or experts/leaders in the birds of a feather session) will provide resources and suggested approaches to prepare librarians/library staff for answering questions about Wikipedia and educating their community about the Wikipedia editing process. This discussion will cover diverse experiences from libraries in higher education, from educating students and faculty about using Wikipedia as a resource, to providing instruction on how to edit and participate in the Wikipedia community through edit-a-thons, classroom training and assignments. Session participants will leave empowered to perform outreach and instruction related to Wikipedia, whether it’s something they are recently approaching or they are building on existing practices.

What will attendees take away from this session?

Attendees will gain insight into academic views on Wikipedia, and gain new knowledge/skills in outreach and instruction about Wikipedia in academic libraries.

Theme of presentation: Education (Higher Ed)

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

All levels

Length of session (if other than 25 minutes, specify how long): 45 minutes

Will you attend Wikimania if your submission is not accepted?

Maybe, depending on funding available from my institution

Slides or further information (optional)

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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