[Gendergap] Gendergap Digest, Vol 79, Issue 6

[Monika Sengul-Jones]

Hey Risker/Anne -- it was great to meet you at Wikimania! Thanks for taking
a few minutes to poke around the program and for the shout-out on the
listserv. Would you consider being a Wikipedia guide in the program? The
course participants would really benefit from meeting and conversing with a
real humans of Wikipedia in the discussion spaces. The link is here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/8XPTQXK Thanks for your consideration

Monika

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1. Oclc Wikipedia + Libraries project - Webjunction program (Risker)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2017 23:29:48 -0400
To: "Addressing gender equity and exploring ways to increase the
participation of women within Wikimedia projects."
Subject: [Gendergap] Oclc Wikipedia + Libraries project - Webjunction
program
gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
I had the opportunity to meet Monika at Wikimania, and poked just a little
bit at this project. It looks really interesting! Thanks Monika for
telling us about it.
Risker/Anne

Hello all -
I'm Monika, longtime reader of this list! I've been following this
conversation on increasing the diversity of Wikipedias contributors with
some interest, as well as the conversation on professional connections on
Wikipedia spaces. It seems relevant and valuable to share with this group
details about the project in working on -- and to invite your help.
I'm a WIR for Oclc's 18-month Wikipedia + Libraries project.
http://www.webjunction.org/explore-topics/wikipedia-libraries.html
This fall the project is running an online training program for up to 500
US public library staff to learn about engaging Wikipedia in their
libraries for their communities. The curriculum will cover a wide variety
of subjects specific to English Wikipedia (it's history, pillars,

community

norms, issues of reliability, authority control, organization and user
roles, editing and editorial flow, COI, etc.). Through observations,
exercises, case studies and small assignments, the participants will

slowly

learn best practices, then gain strategies to apply what they know about
Wikipedia to improve info literacy in their communities. By the end the
goal is to have the participants be confident that they can engage
Wikipedia, understand what they are doing and how it works, and make a

plan

for next step in editing and designing programming.
The course will take place on Webjunction, a learning place for libraries
that's been serving 80,000+ library staff globally since 2003. By
participating in the nine week course, US public library staff will earn

a

certificate and some can apply for continuing education credits for their
participation. As a WebJunction course, the focus will be on how

Wikipedia

editing and programming is relevant to library work. Public library staff
participating will see how Wikipedia make sense to them as information
professionals and possibly, give them reasons to make Wikipedia editing

and

outreach a part of their staff duties. The curriculum will make

suggestions

about activities to try at their libraries and include guest speakers who
have edited and done outreach as public library staff.
Given the interest in this thread on helping newcomers, and how that
works, I wanted to share the specifics of this project and I invite folks
in this list to participate in the program as a volunteer guide for one

(or

more) of the course modules.
When I reading Fluffernutter's story, and Pine's, I was smiling - thank
you for sharing, I completely agree, the times I've felt most encouraged

in

trying something new have been when I am genuinely curious and feel
comfortable in asking questions -- for me this has also been in a course
environment; a safe learning space is critical to gaining the confidence
to participate in something new. I think it holds for a big project like
Wikipedia, which has many esoteric technical features and so many guides
and policies.
For this reason I am interested in recruiting a few thoughtful, helpful
editors to join this program to mentor / guide public library staff. Most
of the participants in the nine week course (Sept 13 - Nov 15; six live
online sessions) will be new to editing and the technical/community

aspects

of editing. ~77% of public library respondents in the preview webinar
survey said they use Wikipedia weekly but have never edited Wikipedia.

98%

said Wikipedia is relevant to their jobs. They would benefit from meeting
and getting help and support from real human Wikipedians familiar with

the

social norms and features of the technical interface. In return, you can
learn more about public libraries, what they do, their services and
missions. Public libraries and Wikipedia share many values -- including
commitments to civility and providing free open access to information.
The course will take place on WebJunction's learning platform. To ensure
privacy, the interactive forums are all there. Guiding and mentoring

would

require about hour or three for a 2-week module (and you could help out

in

more than one module). Modules are (roughly): 1) about Wikipedia, 2)
editing 101, 3) Wikipedia and information literacy programs, 4) Wikipedia
and community outreach.
I am glad for the opportunity to share this with the gender gap list, and
I hope that if you are curious you will reach out. I'm actually writing
this en-route to Montreal (first time at Wikimania! Excited! Pls pardon
grammar and informality, I'm writing this on my phone!) and will be
presenting the project at 4pm on Thursday and Sunday at 11:00am... feel
free to email me directly or attend if you are also coming. also share!
There's also a simple form to fill out if you prefer too
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/8XPTQXK
Thanks to the members of this list for your consideration / attention to
my email and for the dynamic conversations over the years on

tough-to-solve

issues ...
/MSJ
Sent from my mobile phone possibly using voice control, please pardon
errors

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