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 <[email protected]> wrote: > 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 <[email protected]>* wrote: > > > From: Bob Kosovsky <[email protected]> > Subject: [libraries] Outreach to library staff > To: "Wikimedia & Libraries" <[email protected]> > 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 > [email protected] > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/libraries > >
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