I am a librarian! I think the key thing is finding
ways that *Wikipedia* can advance the *librarians'* goals. I
think when these initiatives fail it's often because they're
framed in terms of how librarians can advance Wikipedia's goals.
(And asking people who are overworked and underpaid to
contribute free labor to a project they're not already invested
in is...not an obvious value proposition.)
Now I have no idea what the going concerns are
for Egyptian librarians, so I can't advise you on specifics.
But here are some things librarians are often interested in
that can be approached via Wikipedia:
* research and information literacy skills:
finding and evaluating sources
* digital literacy and computer usage skills
* propaganda, misinformation, fake news (though
I expect this plays very differently in Egypt than where I am
in the US)
* supporting the learning that is going on in
professors' classrooms
* open access
They're often interested in digital preservation
and research data management too, but their approaches are SO
different that Wikipedia is probably less useful here.
What kind of interest are your librarians
expressing? Why do THEY want to learn more?
Hello,
Hope this finds you well. I didn't plan on meeting
librarians at a university here in Cairo, Egypt, but
they expressed interest in Wikipedia, so we are meeting
:). The problem is, I really don't know what activities
to offer them. I have zero experience in Wiki+libraries
collaborations. It would be more than great if anybody
could help me out. What I need is:
1. Understanding the nature of librarians work (I know
it is a big topic, but some general remarks would do).
2. Having examples of activities they can be part of to
contribute to Wiki (be it Wikipedia or Wikimedia).
3. Understanding how rewarding those activities are
(so that I explain to them)
4. Having examples of similar activities, if any, around
the world.
Bonus point 5. Having a clear plan of action to give
them (i.e. what do we do after the meeting and so on)
Thank you so so much in advance for helping me navigate
this uncharted territory.
Best,
Reem
--
Kind
regards,
Reem Al-Kashif
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