Hello UK Wikimedians, I just wanted to alert you to a blog we published
today
<https://blog.wikimedia.org.uk/2017/12/talking-to-creative-commons-ryan-merk…>
about Creative Commons' efforts to improve indexing and search for CC
licensed works.
Have a nice weekend!
John Lubbock
Communications Coordinator
Wikimedia UK
+44 (0) 203 372 0767
Wikimedia UK is a Company Limited by Guarantee registered in England and
Wales, Registered No. 6741827. Registered Charity No.1144513. Office 1,
Ground Floor, Europoint, 5 - 11 Lavington Street, London SE1 0NZ.
Wikimedia UK is the UK chapter of a global Wikimedia movement. The
Wikimedia projects are run by the Wikimedia Foundation (who operate
Wikipedia, amongst other projects). *Wikimedia UK is an independent
non-profit charity with no legal control over Wikipedia nor responsibility
for its contents.*
The meetup has a conventional wiki page
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Meetup/Cambridge/36
and also an Eventbrite page (has been shown to bring in people we don't
otherwise see):
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cambridge-wikimedia-meetup-tickets-395100255…
Let me hasten to say that you can attend without a ticket!
Since the room has a projector, I'll be running an introductory Wikipedia
editing session from 1 pm to 3 pm. Some followup was requested after a local
workshop in September. The meetup proper will start at 3 pm. Last time we had
several demos.
Hope to see some of you there.
Charles
A letter
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/22/historians-working-towards-a-…
in today's Guardian comments on the role of the database at
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/
"uncovering Britain’s imperial past". In a headline sense, I agree. I did some
work on Wikipedia on Abel Rous Dottin, an MP from a West Indian slave-owning
background, and his part in the launching of the London & Greenwich Railway:
family connections were certainly behind some of the initial funding. Not at all
the emphasis in the standard history of the L & G.
I thought some people would be interested in the more technical background
(which amounts to inheritances, genealogy and land ownership records, politics
and commerce); or at least what is being done on Wikidata in this direction.
There is a property, P3023, for the database identifier for people. It occurs on
506 items. That sounds quite good, until you realise that the database has
around 50,000 people mentioned, so only 1% of entries are so identified.
Of those, 298 have occupation "politician". and 241 are identified in the
History of Parliament Online (sterling work by Andrew Gray means for the
relevant period to 1832, Wikidata has complete coverage of MPs). That sounds
like quite good coverage of the "West India lobby" and anti-abolitionism in
Parliament.
On the other hand, one of the conclusions of the research in this area is that
many of the fortunes made by Caribbean slave-owners were not in the public eye,
in the same way. Further, the database is primarily about those who were
compensated after the 1837 abolition of slavery in the British Empire. It does
have information digging further back: but for some reason the identifiers used
are long and apparently random numbers, where those who were compensated form a
simple and essentially unbroken sequence.
To sum up, we can reach for our old friend, the "low-hanging fruit", which
appears to have been largely gathered so far. Information is sparse, in the
database, in the average case: we cannot yet place most of these people, and the
"long tail" of those who were given smaller sums is mostly opaque. (Sorry, mixed
metaphors there, but never mind.)
There were large sums paid out, particularly to those who had acquired estates
in British Guiana: and we don't always know much about them, because they were
prominent only in commerce. And those who are central to the database are not in
general those who built up and profited most from the plantation system, which
peaked in commercial terms at least a generation before 1837. Matthew Parker's
well-written "The Sugar Barons" gives the impression that the smaller
landholders really were there to "make up the numbers".
The approach, now standard on Wikidata, is to put a dataset into the mix'n'match
tool, and gradually cross-match it. That way has not been pursued in this case,
because it isn't clear how to proceed, and much of the data is just not there
for those receiving compensation (they would be marked N/A for matching, in the
jargon). I'd be very interested to hear from anyone who could help with the
first point.
Right now, honest piecemeal effort can bring a few more of the people involved
into better focus.
Charles
Dear colleagues,
Please disseminate this ‘open’ invitation to interested colleagues in your networks as appropriate. So much information is missing from the world’s #1 information site!
We would be delighted if you could join us in celebrating & surfacing our brilliant Scottish artists and authors on 24 November. All welcome. After all, art & literature is no trivial pursuit.
1. Scottish Living Artists – Friday 17th November at 10am Neil Lebeter, Art Collections Curator and Deputy Head of Museums will bring out a selection of Jonathan Owen<http://www.inglebygallery.com/artists/jonathan-owen/>’s artwork. Neil will give an insight into Jonathan’s work and processes, as well as how the work is acquired by the University. Places are limited, please ensure you email designinformatics(a)ed.ac.uk<mailto:designinformatics@ed.ac.uk> if you would like to come to this bonus event.
2. Lost Literary Edinburgh – 24 November In this event for the Being Human festival<https://beinghumanfestival.org/event/lost-literary-edinburgh-a-wikipedia-ed…> (video<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7xvj6jlqns>) celebrating research in the humanities we’ll be creating and improving Wikipedia pages for neglected or overlooked authors. Visit bit.ly/LostEdinburgh<http://bit.ly/LostEdinburgh> to see the loooong list of missing but brilliant authors we need help with. How many have you read? Come for half a day (morning or afternoon) or stay for the whole day! Free lunch too!
3. Scottish Living Artists editathon – 24 November In celebration of the Jacqueline Donachie exhibition, participants at the Fruitmarket Gallery have a unique chance to receive a tour of the exhibition & contribute content to the Wikipedia pages of some of Scotland’s most prominent living artists. Visit bit.ly/ScottishLivingArtists<http://bit.ly/ScottishLivingArtists> for more info.
4. Wiki Meetup – St. Andrew’s Day – 30 November: Join us for an informal social meetup for Wikipedia editors (& would-be editors). All are welcome to join us for an informal Wiki meetup for St. Andrew’s Day at one of Edinburgh’s cosiest cafes. If you have ever edited Wikipedia or ever wanted to find out more about what is all about then this is the meetup for you. More details here.<https://attending.io/events/wiki-meetup-st-andrew-s-day>
Open Data – Wikidata as the central hub of structured linked open (political) data
· MySociety’s EveryPolitician project<https://media.ccc.de/v/wikidatacon2017-10035-well_structured_political_data…> are appealing for people to hold Wikidata workshops for Global Legislative Openness Week<https://www.mysociety.org/2017/10/12/join-the-glow-run-a-wikidata-workshop-…> (GLOW) from November 20-30 to add political data which can allow research & investigations to better hold politicians to account. If you are interested in participating then do let me know by return email. (NB: A working title could be “It’s my (political) party and I’ll cry if I want to.”)
Open Images: Help us add 2,100 pics of Scotland’s listed buildings & monuments to Wikipedia on 23 November.
· 2,100 images of Scotland’s listed buildings & monuments were shared for the recent Wiki Loves Monuments competition. From 11am to 1pm on Thursday 23rd November, you can join us in an informal Wiki to add these images to better illustrate relevant Wikipedia pages for anyone to share & reuse. Visit bit.ly/ScotPics<http://bit.ly/ScotPics> to see the new images and click here to see the winners of the UK competition.<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Wiki_Loves_Monuments_2017_in_the…> Email me at ewan.mcandrew(a)ed.ac.uk<mailto:ewan.mcandrew@ed.ac.uk> if you would like to lend a hand.
Open Books – Join us at the Wikisource workshop<https://www.events.ed.ac.uk/index.cfm?event=showEventDetails&scheduleId=269…> on 7 December to share the joy of reading!
* Edinburgh: Picturesque Notes is a travel book written by Robert Louis Stevenson<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Louis_Stevenson>, who had his birthday on Monday. It was first published in 1878 as "a paean<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paean> to his birthplace" and was his second published book. It has now been transcribed to Wikisource<https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Edinburgh_(Stevenson)>, the free digital library, for others to enjoy and has been viewed 750 times since January 2017 when it was uploaded & linked to the Wikipedia page for Edinburgh<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edinburgh#19th_and_20th_centuries>, 1 click away. It also, as of today, has its own Wikipedia page<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edinburgh:_Picturesque_Notes> so people can better discover all about this work which “To the Scot, it ought to be a sort of Bible.” How many other brilliant texts could be transcribed & shared online for others to enjoy? View the Histropedia timeline of all Stevenson’s texts<tinyurl.com/RLSworks2> to read about them all.
Best wishes,
Ewan McAndrew
Wikimedian in Residence
Tel: 07719 330076
Email: ewan.mcandrew(a)ed.ac.uk
Subscribe to the mailing list: wikimedia(a)mlist.is.ed.ac.uk
My working hours are 10.30am to 6.30pm Monday to Friday.
Wikipedia Project Page for the residency: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:University_of_Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, Floor H (West), Argyle House, 3 Lady Lawson Street, Edinburgh, EH3 9DR.
www.ed.ac.uk
The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in
Scotland, with registration number SC005336.
Hi all
The call for proposals for OER18 has been extended to 27th November:
https://www.alt.ac.uk/news/all_news/deadline-proposals-oer18-has-been-exten…
There are a range of themes including 'How is OER learning from, and
contributing to, other open activities, e.g. open science, open source,
open data, open access etc?' which could be of particular interest.
Best
Lucy
--
Lucy Crompton-Reid
Chief Executive
Wikimedia UK
+44 (0) 203 372 0762
Wikimedia UK is a Company Limited by Guarantee registered in England and
Wales, Registered No. 6741827. Registered Charity No.1144513. Registered
Office Ground Floor, Europoint, 5 - 11 Lavington Street, London SE1 0NZ.
Wikimedia UK is the UK chapter of a global Wikimedia movement. The
Wikimedia projects are run by the Wikimedia Foundation (who operate
Wikipedia, amongst other projects).
*Wikimedia UK is an independent non-profit charity with no legal control
over Wikipedia nor responsibility for its contents.*
Volunteers interested in GLAM may be interested to read the letter to
The Times today from an extensive list of highly respected academics
and museum directors, lobbying against arbitrary image fees charged by
UK national museums and their doubtful claims of copyright.[1][2]
Quote: "Fees are also charged despite the fact that the artworks in
question are not only publicly owned, but out of copyright (that is,
made by artists who died more than 70 years ago). Museums claim they
create a new copyright when making a faithful reproduction of a 2D
artwork by photography or scanning, but it is doubtful that the law
supports this. Museums' rules for using images are confusing and
inconsistent, and do not raise meaningful funds once costs are taken
into account."
Copyfraud used by GLAMs has been discussed within the Wikimedia
community many times in many forums. This letter may be a useful model
for the UK chapter to follow and to have a stronger public position
on. The potential of GLAM projects using WMF funding may take the
requirement correctly to license public domain images as public
domain, as an ethical precursor for any GLAM partnership to be
proposed.
Links:
1. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Fae/Museum_fees Letter text
and summary article for research purposes
2. http://www.arthistorynews.com/articles/4810_Museum_image_fees__a_call_to_ar…
Bendor Grosvenor's article "Museum image fees - a call to arms"
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyfraud Definition of copyfraud
Thanks,
Fae
--
faewik(a)gmail.com https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Fae
Hi,
We would be delighted if you could join us for the Lost Literary Edinburgh editathon on 24 November 2017, part of the AHRC-funded ‘Being Human’ festival.
Many famous authors have made Edinburgh their setting and subject. But it’s also a place rich in voices and stories that are now just the faintest of echoes around its streets and tenements.
The AhRC-funded LitLong app and web resource recovers some of these lives and stories, giving them back to the city and its readers. But LitLong users rely on the common store of knowledge built up elsewhere online, so in this event we’ll be adding to that store by creating and improving Wikipedia pages for neglected or overlooked authors in the LitLong database.
Full training will be given. New editors very welcome. Visit bit.ly/LostEdinburgh for more details and do have a look at our list of authors we are seeking to create Wikipedia pages for.
How many have you read & enjoyed?
Hope you can join us to help recognise their contribution to literature.
Ewan
Ewan McAndrew
Wikimedian in Residence
Tel: 07719 330076
Email: ewan.mcandrew(a)ed.ac.uk
Subscribe to the mailing list: wikimedia(a)mlist.is.ed.ac.uk
My working hours are 10.30am to 6.30pm Monday to Friday.
Wikipedia Project Page for the residency: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:University_of_Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, Floor H (West), Argyle House, 3 Lady Lawson Street, Edinburgh, EH3 9DR.
www.ed.ac.uk
The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in
Scotland, with registration number SC005336.
Hi,
Scotland’s vibrant art scene is not currently adequately reflected on Wikipedia, the globe’s largest information source. In celebration of the Jacqueline Donachie exhibition, on 24th November 2017, participants at the Scottish Contemporary Artists editathon have a unique chance to contribute content to the Wikipedia pages of some of Scotland’s most prominent living artists.
You will receive a tour of the exhibition, training on how to edit Wikipedia pages and the kind of resources that are best to use when editing, and be provided with access to materials from the libraries of the Fruitmarket Gallery and Edinburgh College of Art.
Find out more about the event at bit.ly/ScottishLivingArtists. You will find a list of the artists that have been identified that need additional information, however please contact designinformatics(a)ed.ac.uk<mailto:designinformatics@ed.ac.uk> if you have further suggestions about artists to be included.
In addition, on Friday 17th November at 10am Neil Lebeter, Art Collections Curator and Deputy Head of Museums will lead a unique visit to the University of Edinburgh’s Collections where he will bring out a selection of Jonathan Owen’s work, whose entry is on the list to be edited on the 24th. Neil will give an insight into Jonathan’s work and processes, as well as how the work is acquired by the University.
Places are limited so don’t delay if you would like to join us!
Best wishes,
Ewan
Ewan McAndrew
Wikimedian in Residence
Tel: 07719 330076
Email: ewan.mcandrew(a)ed.ac.uk
Subscribe to the mailing list: wikimedia(a)mlist.is.ed.ac.uk
My working hours are 10.30am to 6.30pm Monday to Friday.
Wikipedia Project Page for the residency: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:University_of_Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, Floor H (West), Argyle House, 3 Lady Lawson Street, Edinburgh, EH3 9DR.
www.ed.ac.uk
The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in
Scotland, with registration number SC005336.
Hi,
Join us for an informal social meetup for Wikipedia editors (& would-be editors).
All are welcome to join us for an informal Wiki meetup for St. Andrew’s Day at one of Edinburgh’s cosiest cafes. If you have ever edited Wikipedia or ever wanted to find out more about what is all about then this is the meetup for you. Come join us to discuss & celebrate the sharing of Open Knowledge as part of a growing Wikimedia Alba community!
Attendees confirmed already: Ewan McAndrew, Wikimedian in Residence for the University of Edinburgh. Sara Thomas, Wikimedian in Residence at the Scottish Libraries and Information Council. Susan Ross, Gaelic Wikipedian in Residence at the National Library of Scotland. Lucas Agustín Reynoso, volunteer with Wikimedia Argentina for 6 years and new member of Wikimedia UK.
Come join us at Levels Cafe on Holyrood Road, Edinburgh 4-7pm on 30 November 2017. #TheLionRampant #WikiAvengersAssemble.
https://attending.io/events/wiki-meetup-st-andrew-s-day
All welcome. No Wiki experience necessary. Hope to see you then.
Best wishes,
Ewan
Ewan McAndrew
Wikimedian in Residence
Tel: 07719 330076
Email: ewan.mcandrew(a)ed.ac.uk
Subscribe to the mailing list: wikimedia(a)mlist.is.ed.ac.uk
My working hours are 10.30am to 6.30pm Monday to Friday.
Wikipedia Project Page for the residency: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:University_of_Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, Floor H (West), Argyle House, 3 Lady Lawson Street, Edinburgh, EH3 9DR.
www.ed.ac.uk
The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in
Scotland, with registration number SC005336.