Training sessions/Proposals/Growing a Wikipedia Library Branch

From Wikimania 2016 • Esino Lario, Italy

Title: Growing a Wikipedia Library Branch in every language: Strategies for developing projects and engaging Libraries and publishers to support quality improvement on wikis

Presenter: Alex Stinson, Project Manager, The Wikipedia Library User:Astinson (WMF)

The Wikipedia Library in the last couple years has grown from only providing, to supporting projects and research support on nearly twenty language Wikipedia. Each branch operates as a community-organized satellite: WMF staff support the global project developing tools for building and supporting local branches, but local coordinators in local Wikipedias develop their own branch libraries and strategies. Coordinators throughout the movement have assembled a range of different strategies that allow each community single questions: how can we help Wikipedians and our readers seize on the amazing opportunities to use research materials?

In the workshop, I will share the process the TWL team suggests for building local branches in both large and small language communities, using our “Full” and “Light” setup guides. When examining the frameworks, I will discuss the strategy we use for full branches: first consulting your community to assess research services the community already has; developing a community of interest; growing beyond those services to meet community needs; and leveraging outside partnerships. We see each open research hub as way to both capitalize on the successes of larger branches, like English Wikipedia’s, but also to discover and share back what uniquely works for your own community. As part of the workshop, I will highlight some of the new opportunities that we are identifying at the WMF around Research libraries: issues related to literacy, greaters systemic engagement with library networks (as modeled by Amical Wikimedia), and opportunities for librarians to engage through other strategies through efforts like #1lib1ref.

After participating in the workshop, participants will be to:

  • Identify the opportunities for developing a Wikipedia Library in their own language context
  • Identify existing research support and library engagement efforts in your local community that could be made more effective by connecting them together
  • Develop strategies for supporting research in their own local context

Purpose Help local language leaders become more familiar with the Wikipedia Library, and strategies being developed by The Wikipedia Library

Targeted Participants Wikimedians interested in supporting quality improvement on Wikipedias and other projects, through improved research access and support. The Workshop will be designed to both support volunteers new to the Wikipedia Library and volunteer engaged in an existing branch.

Preparatory reading: Familiarize yourself with the Wikipedia Library: meta:The Wikipedia Library

Slide materials will be at: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1wtgi2NF54ONelfJ7JBl0p3MNkf5z34UIkUCDPTGZGUQ/edit?usp=sharing

Etherpad: https://etherpad.wikimedia.org/p/Wikimania2016WikiLibrary

Interested attendees

Please add your interest with # ~~~~ and your level of experience with the Wikipedia Library

  1. Shyamal (talk) 15:35, 29 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]
  2. Bodhisattwa (talk) 11:46, 30 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]
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