Collaboration with the Multnomah County Library - GLAM-US

12 Sep 2012

Greetings, fellow GLAM project members, This message marks my first on the GLAM mailing
list, which I joined following Wikimania 2012 (where I attended nearly all of the
GLAM-related sessions with great interest).  My thanks to Lori for her continued
encouragement and support; she has provided a friendly face to the GLAM project and has
answered any questions I have thrown her way since first hearing about Wikipedians
collaborating with cultural institutions.  Additional thanks to GLAM folks for providing
so much quality information at Wikimania; I had the pleasure of meeting Wikimedia
Foundation staff and GLAM professionals throughout the conference and at the GLAM Night
Out event. (I was also interviewed by Victor G. and had a brief opportunity to discuss
GLAM; we will see what the final product looks like and what is used for the fundraising
campaign!)... My names is Jason and I have contributed to English Wikipedia under the
username Another Believer for nearly five years now.  I currently reside in Portland,
Oregon and work for a non-profit arts organization.  I have a great appreciation for
cultural institutions and the role they play in our community.  Stated simply, the
marriage between GLAMs and Wikipedia is brilliant and the concept of Wikipedians in
Residence is very exciting.   I thought I might offer an update about an approaching
project in collaboration with the Multnomah County Library.  On October 27, the Central
Library (the main branch of the Multnomah County Library) will be hosting an edit-athon in
conjunction with Wiki Loves Libraries.  I, and I believe at least one additional
Wikipedian and member of WikiProject Oregon, will be attending the edit-athon.  The
primary focus will be to improve MCL-related articles, share the resources available to
Wikipedians at MCL facilities and train new/interested Wikipedians.  We have scheduled a
meeting with MCL staff on October 3rd to organize the event.  In addition, I have been
invited to visit the library at a time closed to the public to meet staff, get a
"behind-the-scenes" perspective and photograph the interior of the building
uninterrupted.  (The Central Library is located on the National Register of Historic
Places, so all of my photographs will be uploaded to Commons as part of the Wiki Loves
Monuments competition, an added bonus to this collaboration which is also known by MCL.) I
bring this update to the GLAM mailing list with the hope that this collaboration might be
the start of a greater bond between the Multnomah County Library system and Wikipedia.  If
anyone has literature to recommend (perhaps I should look closer at the Bookshelf
available at the GLAM portal on Wikipedia), or advice about how to encourage a
strengthened relationship between both parties, I am all ears!  I will continue attempting
to collaborate with MCL in the future, regardless of whether or not they are open to
furthering the relationship beyond hosting occasional events. On a personal note, I remain
very dedicated to Wikipedia and its sister projects, outreach initiatives and the concept
of Wikipedians in Residence.  My interests are primarily in research and content creation,
and I appreciate the platform Wikipedia serves in our society (non-biased, free,
educational, reliable, etc.); other interests include WikiProject construction and
maintenance, categorization, grantwriting, collaborations, etc.  Subjects of interest
include architecture, current events, local history, monuments, music, National 
Register of Historic Places, parks, performing arts, politics, public 
art, science, etc.  I am certain Wikipedians in Residence roles range from super-part-time
unpaid positions to full-time paid positions; regardless, I am pleased to see
relationships forming and industry standards being created.  Not to sound self-serving,
but my hope is that one day I might be able to make a living supporting Wikipedia-related
projects, simply because I am that interested and dedicated to the mission.  If anyone has
any connections in the Portland area or hears of any opportunities that arise in the
future, feel free to contact me directly.  Similarly, I am always looking to improve my
"Wiki CV" (as I like to call my Wikipedia-related activity), so I'd be
interested in joining GLAM/Wikipedia-related workshops and events (especially if
scholarships might be available!). Pardon the extended introduction, and keep up the
amazing work! Thank you,Jason / Another Believer (P.S. - Sorry if this mailing list is not
the ideal platform for this message.  Between the various GLAM-related platforms, I
thought I would start here!) 		 	   		  