Jimmy (Jimbo) Wales wrote:
Stan Shebs wrote:
Another way to do it is a la Critical Mass - everybody just show up and overrun the library. That will get some publicity too. :-)
Well, I wouldn't recommend that, exactly. :-) But it might be sensible to drop the idea of doing it when the library would otherwise be closed, since that seemed to be the primary "red flag" of objection.
My guess is that if a library is open to the public, they can't really say "no" to a ton of people showing up during regular business hours, but of course we're kind and thoughtful wikilove people, so we would prefer to schedule this with the library in advance so that they can be sure to have "all hands on deck", as well as possibly providing us with some space.
Thinking about it some more (instead of working, ahem), it might work better to start small - organize as regular sessions with 10-20 people, which requires nothing from the library, but still gives you synergy from the f2f discussion. If the idea catches on and the sessions get larger, the librarians will by then be familiar with WP and how the sessions work (by the complete unshelving of the reference section every Tuesday night, if nothing else :-) ), and will likely come up with their own ideas of how to be of assistance.
There could be some interesting specializations with this; for instance, one person to run to the stacks and find the books with the needed factoids, another to check articles against books, and a third to type in the bibliographical details about the books used. Our computerphobic friends might especially appreciate the opportunity to participate without needing to be a speed typist.
Stan