Librarians and library lovers,

We hope that you and your loved ones are taking care during this challenging time. In just three days, starting from Friday May 15th, we will be joining together around the world to make Wikipedia more reliable through #1lib1ref! 

We have just a few reminders: 

Please follow the WHO’s health guidelines on the pandemic and avoid physical convenings. [1] We encourage your participation in the campaign virtually, by organising or participating in a virtual event.[2] 

You are already organizing! We are particularly excited about the interventions happening in this round, the local adoption of the campaign in Africa dubbed “African Libraries Week” by the African Library and Information Associations and Institutions (AfLIA), collaboration between International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) and Wikimedia Argentina to organise a Webinar for LATAM and excited to see public communication already addressing French, Spanish, English, Italian and Portoguese language communities.[3] 

You can learn more about these events, and add your own to the virtual events list.[2]

Full resources and guides for participating in the May campaign are available on the campaign website.[4] The campaign will be fully tracked with the hashtag tool, so we encourage you to ensure your contribution is recorded by adding the hashtag (#1lib1ref) in your edit summary. This is very important for monitoring the reach and success of the campaign. 

We need your help sharing the campaign! Visit the communicate and share page, to access materials (graphics) and general communication about the campaign.[5] Feel free to write a blog or make a post about the campaign using the hashtag (#1lib1ref / #1bib1ref) and tag the Wikimedia and Wikipedia Library Accounts.

Lastly, to learn more about the Wikimedia Foundation’s response to COVID-19, please visit wikimediafoundation.org/covid19

Sincerely,

Felix Nartey

[1] - https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019

[2] - https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/The_Wikipedia_Library/1Lib1Ref/Virtual_Coffee_Kit

[3] - https://web.aflia.net/aflibwk/

[4] - https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/The_Wikipedia_Library/1Lib1Ref/Resources

[5] - https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/The_Wikipedia_Library/1Lib1Ref/Share