Hey gang,
I joined this list thinking that I'd follow others to see what they do. I suspect everyone else is thinking the same thing.
So it's time to spring into action in order to prepare for Wikipedia Loves Libraries 2012 (WLL). To start, I propose that we create an email message to be posted to various library-related email lists notifying people of the existence of and advantages of WLL. (When I say "library" I mean to be inclusive of the other GLAM participants, although - for now - focusing on library staff [who are not always "librarians"].)
I'm in my Wikipedia mindset which makes me aware that what you're doing is a collaboration - so apologies if my tone sounds excessively one-sided.
I feel we should create/edit a document so that we can send out this email. I was going to suggest using Google Docs to foster collaborative editing, but then realized that the appropriate place is the Outreach Wiki - although I still feel like a guest on that wiki and am less confident about its organization. (Wikipedia's page is *about* WLL.) I wasn't able to find a WLL section of outreach.wikimedia.org, but there is this page: http://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/FAQ_For_Librarians
The GLAM project has nice pages, such as this one: http://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/GLAM/Get_started -- but I think an WLL email blast needs a different kind of message. I'm thinking of some kind of concise, direct, and appealing message that lays out about 5 bullet points as to why library staff and libraries should be involved in WLL. From there they can go to the Get Started page above.
Some of the points I'm thinking of are:
- Welcoming Wikipedians into your library can increase the number of users - Wikipedia activity in the library can foster a greater sense of community - As the 6th most frequently visited site on the Internet, Wikipedia as the ability to highlight your library - Wikipedia's underlying message of access to information can underscore your library's efforts to provide access to patrons - If your library has unique materials, Wikipedians can help reveal knowledge and information about those materials
So how about it? Maybe someone can set up a planning space on outreach.wikimedia.org so we can gather & organize our thoughts and share them with others?
Secondly...
I know I'll be seeing Merrilee prior to ALA - are there any other folks that would like to gather during ALA for an informal WLL meeting?
I'll probably wear my Wikipedia t-shirt to ALA.
Great idea, Bob. 1. I think the phrasing of our email message should emphasize that pretty much anything goes with respect to goals or formats for WLL participation. We should be careful not to overdetermine how "WLL" might be interpreted. 2. That said, if we suggest possible event ideas in the email message, we might include language that characterizes Wikipedia-editing as one of today's must-have literacies. A library might hold a WLL event for non-Wikipedians in order to highlight Wikipedia as a participatory platform, "the encyclopedia anyone can edit," an everyday skill. Anne
--- On Mon, 6/4/12, Bob Kosovsky bobkosovsky@nypl.org wrote:
From: Bob Kosovsky bobkosovsky@nypl.org Subject: [libraries] Outreach to library staff To: "Wikimedia & Libraries" libraries@lists.wikimedia.org Date: Monday, June 4, 2012, 6:27 PM
[...] So it's time to spring into action in order to prepare for Wikipedia Loves Libraries 2012 (WLL). To start, I propose that we create an email message to be posted to various library-related email lists notifying people of the existence of and advantages of WLL. (When I say "library" I mean to be inclusive of the other GLAM participants, although - for now - focusing on library staff [who are not always "librarians"].)
[...] I'm thinking of some kind of concise, direct, and appealing message that lays out about 5 bullet points as to why library staff and libraries should be involved in WLL. From there they can go to the Get Started page above.
Some of the points I'm thinking of are:Welcoming Wikipedians into your library can increase the number of usersWikipedia activity in the library can foster a greater sense of community As the 6th most frequently visited site on the Internet, Wikipedia as the ability to highlight your library
Wikipedia's underlying message of access to information can underscore your library's efforts to provide access to patronsIf your library has unique materials, Wikipedians can help reveal knowledge and information about those materials
So how about it? Maybe someone can set up a planning space on outreach.wikimedia.org so we can gather & organize our thoughts and share them with others?
[...]
These are good ideas, and thanks for getting the ball rolling. Back when we were talking about the relative lack of library involvement in GLAM activities on Wikipedia, I mentioned on the list that I think part of the problem is messaging, because we tend to spotlight the GLAMs with massive unique collections with activities like content donations and backstage passes. A library may have some original materials, but the standard library is simply a space where the public or scholars may go to satisfy their information needs, and most librarians work at public libraries which are not primarily about unique collections. This is actually a little odd of us, when you think about it, considering Wikipedia is a tertiary reference work and gives preference to secondary sources.
Though it could still use some help, I tried writing a nice-looking librarian-specific WLL portal page, which could eventually be reworked into a more general pitch librarians after WLL. Please take a look here: http://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_Loves_Libraries
Last year, we ran site-wide notices for Wikipedia Loves Libraries, but they pointed to a rather bare-bones Wikipedian-centric meetup page, not friendly to librarians. This could be the page we point the librarians to in the future. Feel free to edit it. I think it could use more links, and a second look at the wording, which I wrote rather quickly.
Dominic
On 4 June 2012 19:13, Anne Britton anne_britton@yahoo.com wrote:
Great idea, Bob.
- I think the phrasing of our email message should emphasize that pretty
much anything goes with respect to goals or formats for WLL participation. We should be careful not to overdetermine how "WLL" might be interpreted.
- That said, if we suggest possible event ideas in the email message, we
might include language that characterizes Wikipedia-editing as one of today's must-have literacies. A library might hold a WLL event for non-Wikipedians in order to highlight Wikipedia as a participatory platform, "the encyclopedia anyone can edit," an everyday skill.
Anne
--- On *Mon, 6/4/12, Bob Kosovsky bobkosovsky@nypl.org* wrote:
From: Bob Kosovsky bobkosovsky@nypl.org Subject: [libraries] Outreach to library staff To: "Wikimedia & Libraries" libraries@lists.wikimedia.org Date: Monday, June 4, 2012, 6:27 PM
[...]
So it's time to spring into action in order to prepare for Wikipedia Loves Libraries 2012 (WLL). To start, I propose that we create an email message to be posted to various library-related email lists notifying people of the existence of and advantages of WLL. (When I say "library" I mean to be inclusive of the other GLAM participants, although - for now - focusing on library staff [who are not always "librarians"].)
[...]
I'm thinking of some kind of concise, direct, and appealing message that lays out about 5 bullet points as to why library staff and libraries should be involved in WLL. From there they can go to the Get Started page above.
Some of the points I'm thinking of are:
- Welcoming Wikipedians into your library can increase the number of
users
- Wikipedia activity in the library can foster a greater sense of
community
- As the 6th most frequently visited site on the Internet, Wikipedia
as the ability to highlight your library
- Wikipedia's underlying message of access to information can
underscore your library's efforts to provide access to patrons
- If your library has unique materials, Wikipedians can help reveal
knowledge and information about those materials
So how about it? Maybe someone can set up a planning space on outreach.wikimedia.org so we can gather & organize our thoughts and share them with others?
[...]
Libraries mailing list Libraries@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/libraries
Bob,
You are understandably confounded about where to organize. There are 3 Wikipeida Loves Libraries pages that have been started:
1. On Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Loves_Libraries
2. On Meta http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_Loves_Libraries
3. On Outreach http://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_Loves_Libraries
As it happens, I am an administrator on the outreach wiki, and I agree with you that it is probably the most apt home for such things. So I took the liberty of copying the GLAM tabbed interface to start a proper WLL portal.
If you want a place to draft the rhetoric in question, I set up a page for it at http://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_Loves_Libraries/Communicati on
I guess we should discuss about how to organize the portal on-wiki, but I'm happy to take requests for features about this portal.
Max Klein
Wikipedia in Residence
kleinm@oclc.org
+17074787023
From: Anne Britton [mailto:anne_britton@yahoo.com] Sent: Monday, June 04, 2012 4:14 PM To: Wikimedia & Libraries Subject: Re: [libraries] Outreach to library staff
Great idea, Bob.
1. I think the phrasing of our email message should emphasize that pretty much anything goes with respect to goals or formats for WLL participation. We should be careful not to overdetermine how "WLL" might be interpreted.
2. That said, if we suggest possible event ideas in the email message, we might include language that characterizes Wikipedia-editing as one of today's must-have literacies. A library might hold a WLL event for non-Wikipedians in order to highlight Wikipedia as a participatory platform, "the encyclopedia anyone can edit," an everyday skill.
Anne
--- On Mon, 6/4/12, Bob Kosovsky bobkosovsky@nypl.org wrote:
From: Bob Kosovsky bobkosovsky@nypl.org Subject: [libraries] Outreach to library staff To: "Wikimedia & Libraries" libraries@lists.wikimedia.org Date: Monday, June 4, 2012, 6:27 PM
[...]
So it's time to spring into action in order to prepare for Wikipedia Loves Libraries 2012 (WLL). To start, I propose that we create an email message to be posted to various library-related email lists notifying people of the existence of and advantages of WLL. (When I say "library" I mean to be inclusive of the other GLAM participants, although - for now - focusing on library staff [who are not always "librarians"].)
[...]
I'm thinking of some kind of concise, direct, and appealing message that lays out about 5 bullet points as to why library staff and libraries should be involved in WLL. From there they can go to the Get Started page above.
Some of the points I'm thinking of are:
* Welcoming Wikipedians into your library can increase the number of users * Wikipedia activity in the library can foster a greater sense of community * As the 6th most frequently visited site on the Internet, Wikipedia as the ability to highlight your library * Wikipedia's underlying message of access to information can underscore your library's efforts to provide access to patrons * If your library has unique materials, Wikipedians can help reveal knowledge and information about those materials
So how about it? Maybe someone can set up a planning space on outreach.wikimedia.org so we can gather & organize our thoughts and share them with others?
[...]
Wow - thanks Dominic and Max for setting things up! I've begun a draft of this outreach email message.
http://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_Loves_Libraries/Communication
In the true participatory spirit of Wikipedia, I hope that others will jump in, fix things up and add more content that will make it appeal to those who'll read it.