Different wikis are different. From what I have heard, German Wikipedia encourages people to write about their employers, while this would be very controversial on English Wikipedia. The standard I have heard most often is whether you are paid by the organization. Making a small edit like correcting an error in the hours of service or the address would not be controversial, but editing an article about your library or your boss would be. If you are being pressured to write about your institution, you can show them this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Conflict_of_interest Some people put a statement about their employer on their user page for transparency

The collection itself is a different question, since a non-profit exists to share information as a public service.

There's an interesting Conflict of Interest statement here: https://narations.blogs.archives.gov/2012/09/27/how-does-nara-avoid-conflicts-of-interest-on-wikipedia/

On Fri, Oct 5, 2018 at 10:55 AM Rajene Hardeman <vizzylane@gmail.com> wrote:

Thanks. We had a good session this past Wednesday with librarians new to Wikipedia and I referenced the bullet points Jake sent.

(p.s. This below email was a draft that I accidentally sent this morning. All is well)

On Oct 5, 2018, at 10:03 AM, Bob Kosovsky <bobkosovsky@nypl.org> wrote:

Hi Rajene,

It's not a black-and-white distinction but one of degrees. If I am in one of the best positions to describe a topic, why shouldn't I add such information to Wikipedia? One thing I ask myself: If someone not in my position added this information would it be accepted? If the answer is yes, then I have no qualms about adding such information. Is it promotion? To an extent it is, but it's information that others may have a difficult time acquiring.

You mention an "exhibit" but I feel that many library exhibits do not achieve notability by themselves (unless an accompanying book is published along with substantial reviews of the exhibit). If there's a lasting website exhibit, then I might add it as a link.

I know others have had difficulty adding links to archival resources, a problem which I've rarely had. I think the difference might be one of reputation. I'm active in several WikiProjects and have created/editing lots of articles, not all necessarily in my professed field (I'm a music librarian, yet I created article on what was the longest river in Manhattan - the article was assessed as a GA). In other words, my track record proves to the community that I'm not on Wikipedia for promotion, but I'm there to add to the encyclopedia.

Bob Kosovsky, Ph.D. -- Curator, Rare Books and Manuscripts,
Music Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
blog: http://www.nypl.org/blog/author/44 Twitter: @kos2
Listowner: OPERA-L ; EXLIBRIS-L ; SMT-ANNOUNCE ; SoundForge-users
- My opinions do not necessarily represent those of my institutions -

Inspiring Lifelong Learning | Advancing Knowledge | Strengthening Our Communities

On Fri, Oct 5, 2018 at 7:13 AM Rajene Hardeman <vizzylane@gmail.com> wrote:
Thanks Bob and all,

My real question was not about new editors trying to write about their own library;

My question is when you want to write about items in your collection, or historic events surrounding your location or an exhibit which could use encyclopedic fortification using resources from your library. Are you promoting your library collection/environment (conflict of interest) or are you adding relevant content to Wikipedia (using your expertise to provide sources). And how do you understand the boundary.

> On Sep 20, 2018, at 6:48 PM, Bob Kosovsky <bobkosovsky@nypl.org> wrote:
>
> the

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