Submissions:2015/GLAM-Wiki 2.0: New Opportunities for Growing GLAM-Wiki in the United States


 * Title: GLAM-Wiki 2.0: New Opportunities for Growing GLAM-Wiki in the United States


 * Theme: outreach and GLAM


 * Type of submission: presentation


 * Author:w:en:User:Sadads, Alex Stinson


 * E-mail address: sadads[at]gmail[dot]com


 * Username:Sadads


 * Affiliation: The Wikipedia Library, U.S. GLAM-Wiki Consortium

GLAM-Wiki has a long history in the United States, with early conversations with the Smithsonian and the first paid Wikipedian in Residence at the Children’s Museum in Indianapolis. However, in the United States much of GLAM-Wiki activity has slowed: initial enthusiasm was high, and some areas continue to be very active in developing GLAM activities, such as New York and D.C., but in the past couple years very few “new” organizations are committing to larger collaborations with the U.S. Wikimedia. This presentation focuses on reflecting on my experience as project manager of the Wikimedia Foundation’s Wikipedia Library program, a member of the US GLAM-Wiki Consortium and as a volunteer engaged in working with multiple different cultural heritage orgs (most recently, the Beach Museum at Kansas State University, and the William Blake Archive).
 * Abstract:

In part, my presentation argues that the slow expansion of GLAM-Wiki outside of regions like D.C. and New York is largely because of our dependence on the lone “Wikipedian in Residence” that can do everything, from outreach, to training staff, to developing capacity. In the American context, this isn’t good enough: we need to develop better support systems in the United States to expand the impact of this powerful concept in the American context. I will explore some models I see growing out of the libraries community that are “multiplying the impact” of interested Wikipedians engaging cultural heritage organizations, including Hebrew Wikipedia’s librarian staffed Reference Desk, the Wikipedia Library Interns Pilot, Wikipedia Visiting Scholars, the Catalan Public library network models, and presenting at professional conferences.

But, also, I argue that in the United States, we need to be more proactive about empowering editors in our local communities, and telling them “yes, you can go talk to x organization and represent the entire Wikimedia community”. Frequently, when I meet United States Editors who haven’t attended an in person event, they don’t have an awareness of just that: that they represent the movement and that we can and should empower them. We have one of the largest editor bases in the North America: we need to imagine new and powerful ways to empower them!


 * Length of presentation: 30 min


 * Special schedule requests:


 * Will you attend WikiConference USA if your submission is not accepted?:Yes

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