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
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Kind regards,
Reem Al-Kashif
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