Wikimedian in Residence Ewan McAndrew has been working with Wikidata and the Survey of Scottish Witchcraft for a while now, with the University’s Wikidata / Data Visualisation internship and “Witchfinder General” Emma Carroll taking it to another level; geolocating places from the database of accused witches in Scotland, and entering them into Wikidata.  

This allowed for some incredible visualisations and detailed storytelling, as you can see on the dedicated website here.  Both the project and the website have been incredibly popular, and gained a huge amount of press – you can see just one of the pieces here.  This success is testament not only to the hard work of all involved, but to how data storytelling can help us connect to our culture, and our history.  

For the last few years the University have been celebrating Hallowe’en – or Samhuinn/Samhain, in the original Gaelic – with something a little Wikimedia, and this year is no exception.  

Ewan will be hosting A Witchy Wikipedia Editathon for Samhuinn on Thursday 31st October in Argyle House, just off the Grassmarket, between 1pm-5pm.  The event’s open to members of the public as well as those from the University, and you can book your tickets by following the link here.  They’ll also be hosting their regular Women in Red editathon at the University library on Wednesday 30th. 

They’ll be concentrating on improving the coverage of accused witches of Scotland, gothic novels, and more.  We’d love to see you there!  

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On 3-4 June, in the fair city of Dundee, it’s the CILIPS Annual Conference 2019, where the great and good of the Library and Information Professionals world in Scotland will come to gather.

We are particularly excited to say that our CEO, Lucy Crompton-Reid, will be keynoting on day 1, and there’ll also be a chance to hear from two other members of the Wikimedia community earlier that day.  If you have even a passing interest in how libraries can – and should – engage with open knowledge in general and Wikimedia in particular, then don’t miss these.

So here’s our Wiki-and-friends top sessions to attend:

• Monday, 12:25, City Suite – Leveraging libraries: Community, open access and Wikimedia – Jason Evans, National Library of Wales Wikimedian in Residence and Dr Sara Thomas, Scotland Programme Coordination, Wikimedia UK
• Monday, 15:55, City Suite – Keynote 3 – Creating a more tolerant, informed and democratic society through open knowledge – Lucy Crompton-Reid, Chief Executive of Wikimedia UK
• Tuesday, 11:40, City Suite – Open Access, Plan S and new models for academic publishing – Dominic Tate, University of Edinburgh
• Tuesday, 14:15, City Suite – The joy of digital – Exploring digital making and scholarship to enable innovation in research libraries – Kirsty Lingstadt, Head of Digital Library and Deputy Director of Library & University Collections at the University of Edinburgh.

Scotland has hosted three Wikimedians in Residence within the library sector – two at the National Library of Scotland, and one at the Scottish Library and Information Council – and so we’re very happy to be able to continue our relationship with the sector through a presence at the conference.  

Here are a few of our favourite things…

Want to know more about how libraries can engage with Wikimedia?  Here’s some of our favourite library things…. We’d recommend that you bookmark these for later reading….

• The fact that Wales has a National Wikimedian, based at the National Library of Wales.
• That the National Library of Scotland hosted Scotland’s first ever Wikimedian in Residence, helping to release openly-licensed images from the collection onto Wikimedia Commons- and then went on to host the first ever Gaelic Wikimedian in Residence.
• Dr Martin Poulter, Wikimedian in Residence at the Bodleian Library, has written extensively on some of the excellent things that libraries can do with Wikidata, in particular, to open up collections.
• Our Wikimedian in Residence project at the Scottish Library and Information Council created a cohort of Wiki-enabled libraries up and down the country, who can now run their own editathons, and engage local people in creating open knowledge using their local library.
• For more general info, here’s an old blog of ours about how libraries can improve Wikipedia.
• That our partnerships with organisations like the Wellcome Library help to bring collections to a wider audience.
• Get involved with the twice-annual #1lib1ref campaign – an easy way into Wikipedia for librarians…

And finally…

We’re also excited to see the release of the Association of Research Libraries’ White Paper on Wikidata, which makes some excellent – and very practical – suggestions as to how libraries can contribute to Wikidata, and indeed, why Wikidata / Linked Open Data in general, is good for libraries in the first place.  Even if you’re unfamiliar with the ins and outs of linked open data, it’s valuable reading, and well explained. https://www.arl.org/resources/arl-whitepaper-on-wikidata/

If you’re at the CILIPS conference, then we hope you have a great couple of days, please do come and say hi!  If you’re not, but would like to follow along on Twitter, you can do so on #CILIPS19

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I’ve known tara Beall for a while – our paths first crossed when I was the Wikimedian in Residence at Museums Galleries Scotland, working with Glasgow Museums, and we were organising an editathon to do with the Showpeople of Scotland, with whom tara had worked for some years. (Their lifestyle and culture is once again under threat, due to regeneration plans in Govan, which would affect one of their permanent yards). Months later she came to an editathon which was focussed on improving the article on (Scottish political activist, rent strike organiser and one of Glasgow’s first woman councillors) Mary Barbour, and then we ran an editathon at the Glasgow Women’s Library with tara’s Strong Women of the Clydeside (SWaC) project team, and then another (also for SWaC) at the Mitchell Library when I was Wikimedian at the Scottish Library and Information Council.

It was at that point that we started to talk about her new project, based in Dumfries, which would focus on the stonecarving heritage of the area. Wouldn’t it be great to include a Wiki element to this, she asked? Well yes, I thought.

“Creative heritage projects almost always have websites, but the information they generate is not sustainable – who is looking after the sites five years on? Often, the information generated by publicly funded projects is lost (from the digital realm) after a few years … Wikipedia is a key knowledge platform, and an excellent way for us to deliver an international audience to our local heritage project (and vice versa).” (tara s Beall)

A few months later, we were in Dumfries, and tara is pointing me towards a pub – well, actually, she’s pointing me to the incredible carving on the building that houses the pub. I snap a picture to use later in the workshop as an example. Looking around, I can see that it’s not the only example of this kind of work in the town. In fact, it’s not even the only example on this street.

When it comes to community heritage, it’s all too common to see excellent digital outputs disappear shortly after the project finishes – websites that expire, apps that aren’t maintained, content held on a third-party commercial service that’s bought over and subsequently vanishes… and so it’s been good to work with organisations that see the potential in using open licensing, and engagement with the Wikimedia projects, to ensure more sustainability in the dissemination of their digital outputs. I was grateful to be able to input into Historic Environment Scotland’s Archaeology Programme’s “Sharing Our Stories” document, which offers advice to those groups looking to make the most impact in sharing the results of their project.

The Dumfries Stonecarving Project aims to promote the rich stonecarving heritage of the area, and includes practical taster sessions, summer schools with local young people, an exhibition, and workshops and ‘stonecarving quests’ with photography groups to record some of that heritage. Using Wikimedia Commons and Wikipedia, the project seeks to give this heritage a global audience, disseminating it through channels which have longevity, and which can, through tools like Magnus Manske’s GLAMorgan, give them insight into where their content is being used.

“We are also delighted to be offering workshops to local photography clubs (like the Dumfries North West Photography Club) where they can learn about Creative Commons licences, and best practice for uploading their images to Wikimedia. And because the images are shared under an open licence, everyone can enjoy the beauty of our sandstone heritage. Dumfries has an amazing history of stonecarving, and a wealth of local buildings with incredible carvings on them — from ‘green men’ to gargoyles. Working with Wiki will allow us to get a large number of local people engaged with these histories and interacting with Wikipedia – getting local people involved in preserving their heritage.” (tara s Beall)

And so it’s later on that evening, in a community centre very close to Lincluden Abbey – voted one of Scotland’s favourite “Hidden Gems” during Dig It!’s 2017 Scotland in Six campaign – that I find myself chatting away to a keen group of photographers, who had the week previous walked around their town, taking some incredible pictures of listed buildings. I tell them a little about Wikimedia Commons, and the other Wikimedia projects, show them how to upload, how to use the Wiki Loves Monuments interactive map, and away they go. That evening we uploaded 80 pictures to Commons, and by a few days later, that number stood at over 170. You can see their pictures here, in a category that includes pictures of Dumfries, but also of other buildings and monuments in Scotland that the group had photographed. There are some great pictures in there, some of which have now been added to pages on English Wikipedia, including that for Dumfries itself. Over 15,000 people have read that article since.

That session was the first of a few that we’ll be running over the next few months, and I’m really excited to see what comes next!

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By Sara Thomas, Wikimedian in Residence at SLIC

I’m Sara Thomas, aka [[user:lirazelf]], and I’m delighted to have taken up the role of Wikimedian in Residence with the Scottish Library and Information Council, from now until February 2019.  It’s great to be back into the Wikimedia fold once more, following my previous residency with Museums Galleries Scotland, which ran from January 2015 – June 2016.  During the course of that residency, I spoke at SLIC’s Digital Champions meeting about Libraries & Wikimedia.  Following that, they, along with project proposers Inverclyde Libraries, applied for funding for their own Resident from the Public Library Improvement Fund.  

The SLIC residency feels like a very natural progression from that at MGS, as a networked residency working across an entire sector.  Here, again, my primary focus will be on advocacy and training.  We’re aiming to establish public libraries as quality content creators in the digital sphere, and to provide open access to freely usable content about Scottish culture, derived from our rich library collections. The residency will be supported by a steering group, whose members will be drawn from key partners and stakeholders, including the National Library of Scotland, and Museums Galleries Scotland.  

We’ve got a great base from which to begin this work.  In 2015, SLIC published Ambition and Opportunity: A Strategy for Public Libraries in Scotland 2015-2020, outlining six key aims:

• Libraries promoting reading, literacy and learning
• Libraries promoting digital inclusion
• Libraries promoting economic wellbeing
• Libraries promoting social wellbeing
• Libraries promoting culture and creativity
• Libraries as excellent public services

Nationally, Scottish public libraries already offer code clubs, 3D printing and WiFi access, and we’re excited to explore how open knowledge will add to this landscape. As a lifelong library user, I’m really proud to be playing a part in bringing Scottish public libraries and the Wikimedia movement together.  

I’m based at SLIC’s offices in Glasgow, however I’ll likely often be found visiting local libraries and library staff across Scotland.  It’s a phased programme, with the first phase scheduled from now until January 2018, during which time we’ll be securing and training our initial partners, engaging in a public library content audit, and staging a small number of editing events.  

Can’t wait to get started!

SLIC website: http://scottishlibraries.org/

SLIC Project Page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:GLAM/SLIC

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This post was written by Sara Thomas, Wikimedian in Residence at Museum Galleries Scotland

As Museums Galleries Scotland’s Wikimedian in Residence, I’m often asked what a museum or other GLAM organisation can do with regard to their Wikipedia page.  And the answer is often not as simple as you’d think.

Wikipedia has strict policies concerning conflict of interest – meaning basically that you shouldn’t edit an article that’s been written about your friends, family, clients, employer or place of work – so I always advise that an organisation stay well away from directly editing their own page.

Why can’t we edit the page?  Surely we’re best placed to talk about our own museum?

One of the central values of Wikipedia is maintaining neutrality.  If you’re connected to the organisation, you’re unlikely to be able to maintain that neutral point of view.  Crucially, Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, not a marketing tool.

For these kinds of non-controversial edits, I’d suggest that you do the following:

• Create an account (for yourself, not your organisation) and declare your conflict of interest clearly on your user page. For example, “I’m Sara and I’m a Wikimedian in Residence at Museums Galleries Scotland.”
• Go to the talk page of the article in question, and create a new section – “Factual errors”, or something similar.
• In this section, declare your conflict of interest: “Hi there, I work at Museums Galleries Scotland so won’t be editing this article directly, but there are a couple of factual errors in the article, perhaps someone could edit?”
• Detail the errors, and provide sources to back up what you’re saying. This last part is particularly important!

I’d rather that people didn’t talk about a particular controversy in our history… can’t I delete that section?

Sorry, no.  This would compromise the factual, neutral point of view.  Editing an article to make it seem more (or indeed less) favourable can often end in bad publicity for the organisation.  See here, for example.

Our organisation doesn’t have a Wikipedia page.  I think we should have one!

Firstly, we have to make sure that your organisation is notable enough for an article.  Notability is usually defined in Wikipedia terms as having been the subject of significant coverage in reliable secondary sources – newspapers, journals, books.  This will normally need to be more extensive than just local sources – so regional, national or international.  There’s more information about notability here.

Once you’ve done this, you should make a list of sources, and request that the article be created.  Remember to disclose your conflict of interest!  There’s a detailed guide on how to do this here.  (It may help to know what a museums page should look like – and there are more details about that here.)

You might also want to link up with a relevant Wikiproject, a group of Wikipedia editors who are interested in editing around a particular subject. For museums, that’s probably Wikiproject Museums.

This all sounds a bit complicated.  We’re not really sure how to work Wikipedia…

Wikipedia needs cultural institutions!  There are many different ways in which you can contribute to the encyclopedia, and which will be of more benefit to you than editing your museum’s page.  Partnerships with Wikipedia (and other wiki projects) can help you reach new audiences, help people engage more deeply with your collections, and increase your reach.  If you’re in Scotland and would like me to come and provide free training for you and your colleagues, please drop me a line: sarat@museumsgalleriesscotland.org.uk

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This post was written by Sara Thomas, Wikimedian in Residence, Museums Galleries Scotland

Three conference presentations, seven internal presentations, 22 Glasgow Museums’ staff trained to edit (that’s about 50% of the curatorial staff), one editathon of our own, three organised by other people, and three meetings of the Wiki Working Group. The last few months have been a bit busy.

My four month secondment as Wikimedian in Residence with Glasgow Museums has now finished, although I’m returning on Monday to speak to a group of senior staff about what we achieved, and what the project needs to keep moving forward now that I’ve gone. With it being such a short period of time, sustainability in the project has been a priority.

One of the main achievements of the residency was establishing the afore-mentioned Wiki Working Group, a group of curators and other staff who were trained to edit, and who are interested in realising the benefits of open knowledge in a museums context. They’ll look to find gaps on Wikipedia, and what they can do to fill them; organise events including further editathons; and continue to work towards a donation of images under an open license to Wiki Commons. The group is driven by Tracey MacDonald, one of the assistant curators from the (currently undergoing refurbishment into a multi-partner cultural hub, due to open in 2016) Kelvin Hall team, with whom I was embedded. You can read the minutes of the most recent meeting in my Summary & Reflections report here.

The model is one internal to Glasgow Museums, but which could be easily and successfully replicated in other organisations. It helps to lend both legitimacy and impetus to the project, acting as a focus for activity and longer term cultural change in favour of open knowledge. Huge thanks should go to the Kelvin Hall team and John Ferry, Glasgow Museums’ Digital and New Media Manager, for their help and support throughout the residency.

For the next eight months, I’m working nationally, using Museums Galleries Scotland’s network to engage Scotland’s museums in opening up their collections to the world, with a particular focus on the Recognised Collections. I’ll be offering training, advocacy, events, advice and general enthusiasm. Scotland has some incredible museums, some amazing collections, and massive potential for this GLAM-Wiki partnership.

In the meantime… if you’re in or near Glasgow on the 18th June, swing by the sixth Glasgow Wikimeet!

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This post was written by Sara Thomas, Wikimedian in Residence at Museums Galleries Scotland

As I write this, I’m sitting in the library of the Glasgow Museum of Modern Art. There’s a pleasing amount of public wifi, and an excellent cup of tea. This week I’ve also been in Kelvingrove Museum, telling the Curatorial Forum more about what this Residency will involve, and in the Glasgow Museums Resource Centre, meeting more people and getting a tantalising peek inside the stores. It’s only week two, but I’m really enjoying this job so far.

This is the second residency in Scotland, with the first in the expert hands of Ally Crockford. Mine is a year-long project with Museums Galleries Scotland, the first four months of which will be spent on secondment to Glasgow Museums. It’s very much a networked residency (not unlike Pat Hadley’s with the Yorkshire Network Project) and will see me working with multiple institutions across Scotland. I am more than excited.

I’ve lived in Glasgow since the late nineties, and so it’s with great pleasure that I get the opportunity to talk open knowledge in some of the institutions in which I’ve spent so much time over the years, particularly Kelvingrove Museum. I’m also delighted to be able to investigate the collections surrounding the Kelvin Hall project, which is currently under development, and see how we might use them to enrich the encyclopedia. Even though it’s only week two, a good many leads have already presented themselves, and I’m hopeful that my residency will be able to kick start a longer term relationship between these institutions and Wikimedia. I’ll let you know how I get on…

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