[Wikimediauk-l] Wikisource & Wikidata Showcase as part of Repository Fringe 2016: 1st-2nd August

[MCANDREW Ewan]

**Apologies for cross posting**

With just under 3 weeks to go until Repository Fringe takes place in Edinburgh 
on 1st & 2nd August 2016, registrations are filling up fast and we have a 
packed programme which will hopefully pique your interest and send you flocking 
to join the Scottish capital at its most vibrant time of year!

Find out more about some of our programme items below – the full 
programme is available online.

Register 
now!

Programme Hot Pick - Wikidata & Wikisource Showcase

Our Tuesday programme features a mammoth Wikidata & Wikisource Showcase hosted 
by Histropedia’s Navino Evans, the Bodleian Library’s Wikimedian in Residence, 
Martin Poulter, and the University of Edinburgh’s Wikimedian in Residence, Ewan 
McAndrew.

More information about the 
Showcase and 
what the sessions will cover which is available online now and is summarised 
here:

10am-11.05am Wikisource showcase - “It’s not what you do, it’s what it does to 
you.”

Libraries are under threat as never before with an estimated 450 closures in 
the last six years (Flood, 2016).
Safeguarding digital heritage and ‘the democracy of reading’ (Smith in Shaffi, 
2015) therefore has never been more important.

In this first session of our three showcase events for Repository Fringe 2016, 
we will introduce you to Wikisource: Wikimedia’s free library of 
openly-licensed source texts.

“Libraries are about freedom. Freedom to read, freedom of ideas, freedom of 
communication. They are about education (which is not a process that finishes 
the day we leave school or university), about entertainment, about making safe 
spaces, and about access to information.” (Neil Gaiman, 2013)

In this session we will explain:
·   Why Wikisource is receiving increased attention & affection.
·   How it adds value to the collections of libraries & archives.
·   The crucial role Wikisource plays in raising the visibility, 
accessibility & appreciation of out-of-copyright texts & their authors.
·   How Wikisource links to its sister projects: Wikipedia, Wikicommons and 
Wikidata.

“Quotations or images from centuries ago can still touch or inspire, and as 
readers share this reaction online, the interested audience grows. The 
Wikimedia projects make it easy for people to enjoy and share out-of-copyright 
text, creating and satisfying a modern curiosity about past authors.”(Poulter, 
2015)

What will the session include?
·   An introduction to what Wikisource is and how you can engage with it.
·   A practical activity where you will learn how to navigate Wikisource 
and proofread a page of text.
·   An introduction to how Wikisource links with Wikipedia (the free 
encyclopaedia), Wikicommons (the free media repository) & Wikidata (the free 
repository of structured data).
·   Examples demonstrating how texts can be uploaded, transcribed and 
proofread.
·   Examples demonstrating how everyone - libraries & archives in 
particular - can involve people around the world in having authentic contact 
with the past through Wikisource.

Like every Wikimedia project, Wikisource is free to use by absolutely anyone so 
people of all disciplines and walks of life are encouraged to attend this 
session. Basic knowledge of using the internet will be needed to get involved 
in the practical activity, but there are no other pre-requisites.
Anyone interested in libraries, archives & open knowledge repositories of all 
kinds should come away excited about the possibilities Wikisource, and its 
sister projects, offer!

What should I bring?
Bring a laptop if possible as this will be needed when we learn to navigate our 
way around Wikisource and for the practical demonstration of proofreading a 
page of Wikisource text. In addition, please have a think if there are 
copyright-free source texts you would like to see transcribed to Wikisource.
It would also be a huge help if you could create an 
account
 on Wikisource before arriving (if you have ever edited Wikipedia before, you 
can use the same login details)

References
Flood, Alison (2016). "Joanna Trollope: 'UK cannot afford to close one single 
public 
library'".
 the Guardian.
Shaffi, Sarah (2015)."Smith warns library closures threat to 'democracy of 
reading' | The 
Bookseller".
 www.thebookseller.com.
Gaiman, Neil (2013). "Neil Gaiman: Why our future depends on libraries, reading 
and 
daydreaming".
 the Guardian.

Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Chilcot Report uses OGL

[とある白い猫]

The idea here is to seek copyright holders to voluntarily release content
with a free license, just like how we regularly try this through OTRS etc.
No one here suggests ignoring copyright, at least not me. I however believe
our regular method of seeking this may be inadequate this time as we will
be dealing with possibly for profit commercial entities that may need a bit
more effort to convince.


   - In the interest of public interest given the very nature of the
   report, there is in my view a strong argument that copyright restrictions
   restrict/limit access to the supplementary files to the report.
   - We seek free licenses to these files to safeguard their existence on
   the internet since it is not clear for how long the "Iraq Inquiry" website
   will stay where it is, will it be there in five years? Five decades? The
   public interest could only be secured if we are able to make copies of the
   supplementary documents without copyright restrictions.
   - Our work with the files (wikification) will make the documents more
   searchable and digestible, easing public access to the report and its
   supplementary media.


These can be the rationale or part of the rationale we can use to persuade
BBC etc. to willingly release such rights for a select number of files. We
can debate the rationale further. I feel success of this is more likely if
the problem is highlighted (possibly by using our devised criteria) by an
MP or several MPs prior to our attempts which could create some informal
high level discussion that would ease this process. I do not expect a bill
to be introduced or something like that.

We ought to also identify who owns the copyright of all the media on the
site in question, perhaps a list of files page where we can identify the
filename and copyright in order to manage this. The archive is massive and
that is why this is needed.

  -- とある白い猫  (To Aru Shiroi Neko)

On 13 July 2016 at 01:27, Joseph Fox  wrote:

> Correct me if I'm wrong, but copyright protection laws in the UK usually
> trump claims of public interest. We'd probably need some landmark court
> case to prove otherwise.
>
> On Tue, 12 Jul 2016 at 23:51 とある白い猫  wrote:
>
>> I do not understand what you are asking me. Do you want me to find you an
>> academic paper regarding the BBC for an exception we should seek? Why would
>> I do this?
>>
>> The question here is simple: Do we seek to acquire these files in the
>> interest of the general public or do we not bother to attempt this?
>>
>>   -- とある白い猫  (To Aru Shiroi Neko)
>>
>> On 12 July 2016 at 16:03, Andy Mabbett  wrote:
>>
>>> On 12 July 2016 at 12:22, とある白い猫  wrote:
>>>
>>> > I am not really interested in discussing general policy of the BBC etc.
>>> > regarding copyright at this point.
>>>
>>> Neither am I; I asked whether you could substantiate your claim that:
>>>
>>>   BBC and commercial providers can be compelled [to relinquish their
>>>   rights] on the basis of public interest
>>>
>>> If you cannot, I'm happy to leave things there.
>>>
>>> --
>>> Andy Mabbett
>>> @pigsonthewing
>>> http://pigsonthewing.org.uk
>>>
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