> Date: Mon, 4 Mar 2013 18:32:27 -0500
> From: ockerblo@pobox.upenn.edu
> To: glam@lists.wikimedia.org
> Subject: [GLAM] Fwd: Linking from Wikipedia articles to local library resources
>
> [I sent this earlier to the Wikimedia "libraries" mailing list,
> but I gather that some of the folks on the GLAM list might be
> interested in seeing it too. Apologies if you've seen it already.]
>
> Hello Wikipedia and libraries folks,
>
> I work at the University of Pennsylvania library, and
> have been working with free online resources like online books
> and Wikipedia for some years now. For instance, I've been
> maintaining the Online Books Page since 1993, and have
> recently added links from author and subject browsing pages
> on that site to corresponding Wikipedia articles.
>
> I've recently developed some templates, and a redirection
> service, intended to support links from Wikipedia articles
> to readers' local libraries, wherever those libraries
> might be. If you think these might be useful, I'd be
> interested in hearing your thoughts, and would also be happy
> to help get people started with them as appropriate.
>
> The service, which I'm calling "Forward to Libraries" or "FTL",
> is invoked by templates that can be placed in any Wikipedia
> article. The template documentation can be found here:
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Library_resources_box
>
> (See in particular, the "Library resources About George Washington..."
> example:
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Library_resources_box#Examples
> The box shown there has working links.)
>
> As you can see from the example, the "Resources in your library"
> links can take a reader to a relevant search in the online catalog or
> discovery system of the user's preferred library. (If that preference
> isn't known, the user will be asked first which library they want to
> search. But users can register a preferred library for future searches.)
>
> Readers can also choose "Resources in other libraries" to check other
> libraries and library services. (For instance, a reader who usually
> uses a university library might also want to check nearby public
> libraries. Or they might want to do a WorldCat search of lots of
> libraries.) The service currently knows how to connect to over 70
> libraries in the US-- and users can request others to be added-- plus
> Worldcat.org and The Online Books Page. (Direct links to the Online
> Books Page are also an option, if there are relevant free online books
> people can read without leaving their seat or logging into alibrary
> proxy.) Libraries outside the US can be added as well, though the
> service currently works best with libraries that use the Library
> of Congress name and subject headings, or similar ones.
>
> For more details and rationale, see my blog post at
>
> http://everybodyslibraries.com/2013/03/04/from-wikipedia-to-our-libraries/
>
> I'm still fairly new at Wikipedia template-building (and have only
> recently created an account at Wikipedia instead of just editing
> anonymously). Suggestions and other feedback would be most welcome,
> and I'd be glad also to answer any questions folks on this list
> might have.
>
> Thanks,
>
> John Mark Ockerbloom
>
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