Hello, wiki fans!
Here's what Wikimedia DC has coming up in April:
1) April 13 at 5:30 PM: Meetup on Saturday, at Vapiano (1800 M Street NW). Join us for food, drinks, and an opportunity to chat with fellow Wikimedians and free culture movement participants. All are welcome!
To learn more and sign up: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Meetup/DC_36>.
2) April 20 at 12:30 PM: "All Things GW" Edit-a-thon and behind-the-scenes tour at the George Washington University Archives. The All Things GW Editathon is a rare chance to go behind the scenes in the University Archives and use their unique resources to research and update Wikipedia pages related to The George Washington University and the Foggy Bottom neighborhood. This event includes: a behind-the-scenes tour of the University Archives and a show and tell of some of its most interesting treasures, snacks, and the edit-a-thon.
To learn more and sign up: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Meetup/DC/All_Things_GW>.
3) April 20 at 7:00 PM: Our first Wiki Salon event! Wiki Salon is an informal gathering of Wikipedia enthusiasts to discuss Wikipedia and edit articles together. Bring your own dinner; light refreshments will be served.
To learn more and sign up: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Meetup/DC/WikiSalon>.
If you are interested in learning more about Wikimedia DC, see our website at <http://wikimediadc.org>.
Consider becoming a member of Wikimedia DC. By becoming a member you will help Wikimedia DC promote Wikimedia projects in the Washington, DC area. Member dues are just $10. Make a difference and join Wikimedia DC today! <http://wikimediadc.org/wiki/Membership>.
Regards,
James Hare
President, Wikimedia DC
The Chemical Heritage Foundation seeks applicants for a paid Wikipedian in Residence for Spring 2013. The Wikipedian in Residence is a temporary position working full-time. The Wikipedian in Residence will work as a community coordinator and strengthen the relationship between CHF and the Wikipedia community through a range of activities.
CHF is a collections-based nonprofit organization that preserves the history and heritage of chemistry, chemical engineering, and related sciences and technologies. The collections are used to create a body of original scholarship that illuminates chemistry's role in shaping society. In bridging science with the humanities, arts, and social sciences, CHF is committed to building a vibrant, international community of scholars; creating a rich source of traditional and emerging media; expanding the reach of our museum; and engaging the broader society through inventive public events. We are dedicated to building a digital community around this important legacy that is participatory and collaborative.
For more information and to apply for this position, visit:
http://www.chemheritage.org/about/careers/wikipedian-in-residence.aspx
__________________________________
Jeffery Guin
Manager of Emerging Media
Roy Eddleman Institute
P: +1.215.873.8211
F: +1.215.629.5211
Chemical Heritage Foundation
LIBRARY * MUSEUM * CENTER FOR SCHOLARS
315 Chestnut Street * Philadelphia, PA 19106 * U.S.A.
chemheritage.org<http://www.chemheritage.org/>
Sincerely,
Nicholas Michael Bashour
Washington’s Wikipedia profile gets cleaned up during ‘Edit-a-Thon’
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/history-buffs-buff-up-washingtons-wikip…
For a man who once had a pretty big presence in Washington, Crosby Stuart Noyessure had a pretty anemic presence on Wikipedia. At least, he did on Saturday morning, when the 19th-century publisher of the Evening Star newspaper’s listing on the crowdsourced, online encyclopedia was a mere two sentences long.
But by Saturday afternoon, Noyes had been supersized, or at least given a Wikipedia treatment a little more in keeping with his importance: seven paragraphs and five footnotes.
This was all thanks to Andrew Kuchling, who was one of about two dozen local history buffs who spent Saturday at the Historical Society of Washington engaged in a Wikipedia “Edit-a-Thon.” Their mission: Create, improve, correct and footnote Wikipedia entries related to our fair city.
Sure, these Wikipedians could work solo, in the privacy of their homes, but there’s something more communal about doing it together.
Of course, the Wikipedia Edit-a-Thon was a lot more sedate than other activities ending in “thon”: marathon, telethon, Toyotathon. . . . Picture studious people bent over their laptops at the polished wood tables of the society’s Kiplinger Research Library. Some had pulled reference materials from the library’s collection, others were looking for material online. Librarians and Wiki experts were available to help.
The first issue was what to tackle. The library had provided a list of possible starting points, a few people, places and things that many D.C. residents no doubt know about but that were absent on Wikipedia or inexpertly presented: Petworth, quadrants, Chuck Brown, Howard Theatre, School Without Walls, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Sycamore Island, Snows Court. . . .
Crosby Stuart Noyes wasn’t on the list, but Andrew, who lives in Bowie and works as a software developer for a cable company, thought the guy could use some help.
“I think running the Evening Star all those years is fairly significant,” Andrew said. He’d fleshed out Noyes’s life using a 1932 book on notable D.C. figures from the society’s collection and added links to a newspaper article the journalist had written in his 20s.
After fixing the spelling of the middle name of one of Noyes’s son — it wasWilliams, not William — Andrew decided to beef up the two sons’ entries.
“It’s a way of exercising my writing skills, but I don’t need to work on it for days and days,” Andrew said. “Four hours is plenty.”
Rita Moore and Nicole Beyer sat across from one another one table over. Rita, an insurance agent by day, had the vertical file from the Petworth Citizens Association to one side and was contemplating tweaking the Petworthentry to indicate that the borders of that neighborhood have been somewhat flexible.
Nicole, a senior at George Washington University, was fleshing out the entry forConcordia German Evangelical Church and Rectory in Foggy Bottom, adding information on the value of the church’s property and how big the congregation was.
“I’m a big fan of Census data,” she said.
Adam Lewis, the historical society’s director of development and the person who in 2008 rescued Wikipedia’s main Washington, D.C., entry from mediocrity, described the perfect entry: verifiable, with proper citations and a neutral tone. And it can’t contain original research.
Said Adam, “You’d be surprised how many people say, ‘Well I live down the block, and I know X.’ ”
Just living down the block and knowing X doesn’t cut it on Wikipedia, which is why so many articles are flagged as needing work.
But what a vast and potentially dispiriting endeavor. At last count, there were 4,193,775 English-language entries on Wikipedia. All anyone can hope to do is nibble away at the errors contained therein and add tiny drops of information to the vast sea of knowledge.
“I think every little bit helps,” saidChloe Raub, a Catholic University library sciences student who was working on the listing for William R. Perl, an Austrian-born lawyer and head of the Jewish Defense League’s Washington office. “I think that what Wikipedia depends on is a whole lot of people taking a little time to make it better.”
At his computer, Adam scrolled through some other D.C.-related entries, clicking on Pierre Charles L’Enfant. The entry looked pretty good. Then Adam noticed something. “His entire early life is not cited,” he said disapprovingly.
Get cracking, Washington Wikipedians!
For previous columns, visitwashingtonpost.com/johnkelly.
FYI, if you find yourself in or near Ukraine this May.
Sincerely,
Nicholas Michael Bashour
Sent from my iPhone
Anfang der weitergeleiteten E‑Mail:
> Von: Андрій Бондаренко <a1(a)wikimediaukraine.org.ua>
> Datum: 20. März 2013 13:15:30 MEZ
> An: Wikimedia Chapters general discussions <chapters(a)wikimedia.ch>
> Betreff: [Chapters] Wikiexpedition to Chernobyl exclusion zone
> Antwort an: Wikimedia Chapters general discussions <chapters(a)wikimedia.ch>
>
> Dear friends,
>
> Below is an official information from the Wikimedia Ukraine board about the expedition to Chernobyl exclusion zone. Please inform wikimedians who could be interested to participate.
>
> --
> Dear Wikipedia editors!
>
> We are glad to inform you that Wikimedia Ukraine plans to organize Wikiexpedition to Chernobyl exclusion zone on Friday, May 24. Wikimedians who want to take part and can arrive to Kiev up to this date please inform User visem from Ukrainian Wikipedia and send a scan of your passport to board(a)wikimediaukraine.org.ua. Please do it as soon as possible, because of the difficulties with procedure of application. The deadline is March, 23. Participants should be editors of Wikimedia projects, be at least 18 years old and be ready to improve Wikipedia in their own language using information from the trip. Wikimedia Ukraine covers all expenditures for the trip between Kiev and Chernobyl zone. Participants should pay their transfer to Kiev by themselves. The number of places is strictly limited.
>
>
> --
> Regards,
> Andrij Bondarenko,
> Wikimedia Ukraine
> _______________________________________________
> Chapters mailing list
> Chapters(a)wikimedia.ch
> https://intern.wikimedia.ch/lists/listinfo/chapters
I am excited to announce that the Chemical Heritage Foundation[1]—a
non-profit repository in Philadelphia, USA with collections relating to the
history and heritage of chemistry, chemical engineering, and related
sciences and technologies—is seeking an experienced Wikipedian to serve as
their Wikipedian in Residence[2]. The Wikipedian in Residence will work as
a community coordinator and strengthen the relationship between CHF and the
Wikipedian community through a range of activities, similar to past
GLAM-Wiki[3] residencies. This is a full-time, temporary position with a
small stipend with an immediate opening.
The Wikipedian in Residence's potential activities includes organizing
on-site events for the local Wikipedian community, adding digital content
from CHF's holdings to Wikimedia Commons and Wikisource, encouraging
increased content or quality of Wikipedia articles using CHF resources,
teaching Wikipedia skills to the CHF staff or researcher community, and
documenting their experiences in blogs, social media, or elsewhere.
To learn more or apply, please visit <
http://www.chemheritage.org/about/careers/wikipedian-in-residence.aspx>.
Questions relating to the position can be sent to Jeffery Guin, Manager of
Emerging Media, at <jguin(a)chemheritage.org>, or to me if they are general
queries about Wikipedians in Residence or GLAM-Wiki. Please forward this
message to other lists or or contacts you think would be interested. Thanks!
[1] See http://www.chemheritage.org/
[2] To learn more about Wikipedians in Residence, please visit <
http://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikipedian_in_Residence>.
[3] If you are interested in learning more about Wikipedia's work with
cultural instituions generally, see <
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:GLAM/US>.
--
Dominic McDevitt-Parks
Cultural Partnerships Coordinator, Wikimedia District of Columbia
http://wikimediadc.org
dominic(a)wikimediadc.org
@Dominic_MP | @wikimediadc
I hope that many of you will be able to join us for this event on Friday, March 29 at the Smithsonian's Archives of American Art. Space is limited so sign up today!
-Sara
"Women in the Arts Meetup & Wikipedia Edit-a-thon" in honor of Women's History Month
WHAT: "Women in the Arts Meetup & Edit-a-thon<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Meetup/DC/Women_in_the_Arts2013>" in honor of Women's History Month. Activities will include new editor orientation and training, and a behind-the-scenes presentation from the Archives of American Art staff. Coffee and lunch generously provided courtesy of Wikimedia DC.
WHO: Up to 20 volunteers, plus staff members from the Smithsonian Institution and the National Museum of Women in the Arts. No advanced technical skills required!
WHEN: Friday, March 29, 2013, 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
WHERE: Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th Street NW, suite 2200, Washington, DC
WHAT TO BRING: Photo ID and a laptop computer
RSVP REQUIRED: RSVP with your name and email address to Sara Snyder, snyders(a)si.edu<mailto:snyders@si.edu>, 202-633-7987, or sign up directly on the event page<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Meetup/DC/Women_in_the_Arts2013>. This event is free of charge, but due to space and security badge requirements, participation is limited to 20 volunteers.
Sara Snyder
Webmaster, Archives of American Art
Smithsonian Institution
(202) 633-7987 | www.aaa.si.edu<http://www.aaa.si.edu/>
Hello everyone,
This is a reminder that the Wikimedia DC Annual Membership Meeting will
take place at 2 PM on March 9, 2013, at the Tenley-Friendship Neighborhood
Library (located at 4450 Wisconsin Avenue NW in Washington, DC).
The agenda for the meeting includes the approval of the budget for the
2012-2013 fiscal year. We will also be presenting a report on the
activities and accomplishments of the past year.
A formal order of business for the meeting will be forthcoming shortly.
All members will also receive formal written of the meeting; a copy of the
official notice is attached.
The meeting will be open to both members and the general public, and we
encourage everyone to attend!
As always, if you have any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to
contact me.
Cheers,
Kirill
--
Kirill Lokshin
Secretary | Wikimedia District of Columbia
http://wikimediadc.org | @wikimediadc
Hello everyone,
The following is a report from the Election Committee regarding certain
actions taken by ballot by the members of Wikimedia District of Columbia.
The ballot provided to the members contained three questions:
(1) Shall Wikimedia District of Columbia amend the Articles of
Incorporation to contain the following amended and restated statement of
purpose?
(2) Shall Wikimedia District of Columbia amend and restate the Bylaws as
shown in Exhibit A?
(3) Who shall be elected to the Board of Directors of Wikimedia District of
Columbia?
A total of 17 ballots were received, including 15 received by mail and 2
received electronically. This return satisfies the quorum requirement of
15 ballots.
On Question 1, 17 ballots (100%) contained a "YES" vote, and no ballots
contained a "NO" vote. This meets the majority requirement for Question 1
(50%). Therefore, the Articles of Incorporation shall be amended as shown
on the ballot.
On Question 2, 17 ballots (100%) contained a "YES" vote, and no ballots
contained a "NO" vote. This meets the majority requirement for Question 2
(2/3). Therefore, the Bylaws shall be amended and restated as shown in
Exhibit A to the ballot.
On Question 3, the ballots contained the following votes:
- James Hare - 13 votes (76%)
- Kristin Anderson - 15 votes (88%)
- Peter Meyer - 14 votes (82%)
There being four open seats on the Board in this election, James Hare,
Kristin Anderson, and Peter Meyer are hereby elected as Directors of
Wikimedia DC, effective immediately.
For the Election Committee,
Kirill
--
Kirill Lokshin
Secretary | Wikimedia District of Columbia
http://wikimediadc.org | @wikimediadc
Hello everyone,
Just a reminder that we'll be holding our FY2012-13 annual membership
meeting from 2 PM to 5 PM on Saturday, March 9, at the Tenleytown Library
(located at 4450 Wisconsin Avenue NW, or via the Tenleytown-AU stop on the
Red Line). The agenda for the meeting is attached; there are several
important topics to be discussed, so please join us if you're able.
Following the meeting, we'll be holding a social meetup / dinner at Guapo's
(across the street from the Tenleytown Library); you can sign up at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Meetup/DC_35. The meetup will
start around 5 PM, and you're welcome to join us even if you can't attend
the formal meeting.
As always, questions and comments are welcome!
Cheers,
Kirill
--
Kirill Lokshin
Secretary | Wikimedia District of Columbia
http://wikimediadc.org | @wikimediadc