to wikipedia and beyond
DESCRIPTION
Learn about the Wikimedia foundation, how to take advantage of Wikipedia as a tool for research, ESL, and writing, and how to contribute to Wikimedia as a librarian. Presented by Monique Clark and Samara Carter at the Virginia Library Association Annual Conference on September 27.TRANSCRIPT
To Wikipedia…and Beyond!
Monique K. Clark, MLS Samara E. Carter
Northern Virginia Community College, Annandale Campus
Statistics on Wikipedia
• 4.3 million articles in English• Almost 300 languages
30 MILLIONARTICLES
• 30,978 English-speaking users• German (~6.3k) and Spanish
(~4.2k)
69,859ACTIVE USERS
(as of June 2013)
• English articles for June 2013• Largest & most popular reference
site
11 MILLIONVIEWS PER
HOUR
Source : http://stats.wikimedia.org/
Wikimedia Foundation
Wikimedia
Wikipedia Wikicommons Wikisource Wikidata
Wikimedia: The Mission
“The mission of the Wikimedia Foundation is to empower and engage people around the world to collect and develop educational content
under a free license or in the public domain, and to disseminate it
effectively and globally.”
Source: http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Mission_statement
Wikimedia values….
Wikimedia
Freedom
Accessibility
Quality
Independence
Commitment to openness and
diversity
Transparency
Community as asset
• Source: http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Values
ALA
Access
Diversity
Role of community
Intellectual Freedom
• Source: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill
Wikimania Conference
Yearly global conference
Extension of mission and values
Ignited interest in Wiki
Group picture @ Wikimania 2012 at GWU in D.C.
Credit: Wikipedia
Reliable and Relevant
2005, the journal Nature discovered that Wikipedia was nearly as accurate as the Encyclopedia Britannica. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4530930.stm
2007 peer-review study found 42% of damage is repaired almost immediately. http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?doid=1316624.1316663
2008 study by PC Plus indicated that accuracy was on par with World Book Encyclopedia. http://
www.techradar.com/news/internet/web/wikipedia-vs-encyclopaedia-a-question-of-trust-316163
Wikipedia has a Protection Policy for pages that are often vandalized (i.e. religions, political figures)
Global Collaboration
Articles in 287 Languages
Wikipedia: An Overview
Original Wiki Site English Wikipedia:
>4m articles Anyone can add or
edit content Supports 287
languages 5th most popular
site 500 million/month
Credit: Wikipedia
Wikipedia (cont’d)
5 Pillars
Encyclopedi
a
Neutral
Free content
Respect and
Civility
No firm
rules
Credit: Pillars of Creation, NASA
Wikipedia: Applications
Research
ESL
Writing
Credit: Flickr user orangejack
Wikimedia Commons
Public domain, freely licensed provided by users and used in other Wikimedia projects (ex. Wikipedia articles).
Global repository : All images, sound and video files are available in the user’s language.
Wikipedia Loves Monuments : Events aimed at making more freely licensed photos available.
Great way to contribute if you prefer media to writing!
Wikisource
“Library of free text”
Contains novels, documents, and other
public domain or license-free materials
>250K texts as of Nov 2011
Credit: Wikisource
Additional Wiki Sites
Wikidata Data in structure form,
not articles. Secondary database so
users can access information in any language.
Useful for economics, social statistics, etc.
Launched 2012 by Wikimedia Deutschland
Wikibooks Open content to be
used by anyone, edited by anyone.
Textbooks + two sub-projects: Wikijunior and Cookbooks
Sort by subject, completion status or reading level.
CONTRIBUTING TO WIKIMEDIA
Credit: WikicommonsCredit: shawsa.wordpress.com
Getting Started
Make an account, poke around. Edit something! (Fixing other people’s mistakes feels good.)
Engage in discussion with other users Wikimedia’s role in free information Policy changes and influence in online
market of information Check out WikimediaDC.org!
Includes D.C., Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, and Delaware
Attend editing parties, tours of local museums, or participate in Wiki Loves Monuments/Libraries events.
Other Ways to Contribute
Transcribing Scanning and
uploading documents
Editing and formatting
Adding Content Creating articles Expanding article
stubs Digitizing physical
materials
Credit: Flickr user PugnoM
Other Ways to Contribute
Editing
Removing
spelling/grammatical
errors
Adding/reviewing
citations
Removing
inconsistencies, etc.
Virtual Reference Like a
library reference desk
Covers a variety of subjects
Gain new skills!
Wiki Loves Libraries
• 2011 – present
• Wiki edit-a-thons hosted in
libraries
• Encourages collaboration
between libraries, Wikipedia
community, and general public
• Promotes open access
• Other activities – meetups,
workshops• http://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_Loves_Libraries
Credit: Wikicommons
Wrapping Up
Wikimedia is a growing, dynamic organization
Wikipedia quality depends on YOU!
Librarians CAN get involved
Credit: Wikicommons
QUESTIONS?
Monique K. Clark, MLS Samara E. Carter
Northern Virginia Community College, Annandale Campus
[email protected] [email protected]
Twitter: mkclarkinva Twitter: maraisarchiving