Hi Isla, hello everyone,

I agree with you and Grant on the importance of connecting with Libraries.  Particularly within a South African space.  Ironically enough I was in a meeting with the Cape Town Central Library today to discuss doing activities such as edit-a-thons with them in the future.  We have agreed to do very simple one day edit-a-thon that is open to the public and based in that library to test the waters there and with an eye to hosting similar future events there.  I would like to expand on this in the future to include specialised edit-a-thons that focus on single issues (smilar to the Feminism edit-a-thon that was done last year or the Black History edit-a-thon Milos did this year) organised in partnership with both the library and another organisation that can help us full up the venue with interested motivated people.   That is my current thinking and MO for engaging with at least one library in the near future.

We do however need a longer term vision/strategy for libraries.  Additionally I am also open to other ideas and possible projects with which we can engage with libraries on, especially if they lend them selves to scalability.  One such possible project is the roll-out of Kiwix (offline Wikipedia) local wifi devices in smaller/rural libraries that dont have internet access in South Africa.  Theresa is bringing two such devices to South Africa with her from the Berlin Chapters conference.  The idea there is for us to use these 2 demonstration models to show local governments and departments of education the power of this technology so that it could be rolled out across South Africa (or beyond).  With smart phones and other wifi enabled devices becoming ever cheaper (for as little as R450 these days) the barrier to access to Wikipedia is increasingly becoming the high cost of data.  Kiwix would not have this cost whilst providing a free offline version of Wikipedia in a local area.  Great for a small library/classroom/field/town centre that does not have any form of free internet access.

Further more we do have some experience with working with libraries in the Western Cape at lest through CHEC and the edit-a-thons we did with them last year.  CHEC has been eager for us to do a similar set of edit-a-thons for other libraries in the rest of country but we need volunteers in these locations who can run them.  So we do have some contacts within libraries in the Western Cape but there is still much more we can, indeed should, do in my opinion.  

Cheers,

Douglas.

On 19 May 2015 at 11:15, Isla Haddow-Flood <islahf@africacentre.net> wrote:
Dear Intrepid Wikipedians …

Hello. For me, 2015 seems to be dominated by Libraries … I have been part of the mLiteracy Think Tank recently, and then there was GLAM WIKI where Libraries featured prominently. 

The importance of Libraries to us - as community activators across Africa - has been niggling away at me. And, the outcome of the niggling is that we should all seriously think about partnering our usergroups / chapters / fledgling communities with a local library or library service.

Hear me out. 

Why?
1. Many - especially the flagship ones - have a digitisation programme of some sort. 
2. They are the guardians of the very citable knowledge that we want to see about Africa and our countries on Wikipedia
3. They are busy, but are mandated to share that knowledge
4. They attract natural wikipedias - people who are hungry for knowledge - in large numbers
5. They are often looking for programmes to run with after school activities, and might have ICT support.

They should be included in our outreach strategies, and not just in our GLAM dreams. 

How do we find out about them … ? 

Mylee Josephs - who was at GLAM WIKI in the Netherlands in April sent me this information. 

AFRICA-L

Africa Section mailing list.  The aim of the list is to facilitate communication with library community within the African continent. The objective of the Section amongst other things, seeks to promote and strengthen Library Associations, the Profession and Library/ Information Services in Africa; The Section seeks to create and maintain links with other Sections of International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) as well as related bodies/ organizations for the benefit of the profession and services in Africa.

Note: AFRICA-L is a closed list (restricted to subscribers). Anyone interested in the goals and activities of Africa Section may apply to join.


What do you think?

warmest
Isla







Isla Haddow-Flood
Project Manager
WikiAfrica at the Africa Centre               

tel:       +27 21 418 3336
skype:  islahaddow                                           


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Douglas Ian Scott
司道格
Skype:  douglas0scott
South African mobile number: +27 (0)79 515 8727