Project grants/Railway architecture

Basic information

Project details

Project start date (include month, day, and year)

22 August 2014

Project completion date (include month, day, and year)

Ongoing

Please describe the project in 1–2 sentences

I'm asking for a book, which I can use for improvements to lots of Wikipedia articles.

Amount requested

£48

Project lead details

Are you an individual or an organisation?

Individual

Are you currently a member of Wikimedia UK?

Yes

Project lead name

Harry Mitchell

Project lead username or email

HJ Mitchell

Project description

Please describe what the project will entail, in as much detail as you feel appropriate.

Goals and measures of success

Project goal

Please briefly describe what will be accomplished if the project is successful.

Project goal

To purchase a copy of Britain's Historic Railway Buildings: A Gazetteer of Structures and Sites by Gordon Biddle and to use it to improve (or, where necessary, create) Wikipedia articles on the structures detailed therein. The book is an 800-page reference work which, according to Amazon, gives detailed descriptions of 2300 railway buildings and structures that are of historic or architectural interest. I'm looking for a fairly lightweight project that I can pick up and put down at will (writing featured articles, the aim of my previous grants for books, is good fun but a lot of work), so I intend to cross-reference entries with Wikipedia articles. Many will already have Wikipedia articles, in which case I will add any details contained in the book but not the article; some won't have articles, in which case I will create an article; and others will have very short articles/stubs, in which case I will do what I can to flesh them out. With 2300 entries in the book, the project will likely keep me occupied for some time. There may be some DYKs to be had, but it's unlikely (though not impossible) that the project will directly result in any new featured articles.

Measures of success

Please provide a list of measurable criteria that will be used to determine how successful the project is. You will need to report on the success of the project according to these measures after the project is completed.

Measures of success

Number of articles created, number of articles improved, possibility of DYKs, faint possibility of GAs. General improvement to Wikipedia's coverage of historic railway buildings/structures.

Budget and resources

Project budget breakdown

£48 (Amazon) for a copy of the book. Second-hand and paperback versions are available but not significantly cheaper than a brand new, hardback copy.

Non-financial assistance requested

I'd like the office to purchase the book and have it delivered to me (or arrange for me to pick it up).

Impact and benefits

How will this project support Wikimedia UK's Outcomes, charitable objects and vision, values and mission?

WMUK's objects are "to promote and support the widest possible public access to, use of and contribution to Open Content of an encyclopaedic or educational nature or of similar utility to the general public"; what better way to do so than to purchase source material intended for improvement of Wikipedia articles?

• G1.1 The quantity of open knowledge continues to increase - content added to articles
• G1.2 The quality of open knowledge continues to improve - new articles, potential of GAs
• G2a (generally) Develop, involve and engage WMUK volunteers

• To be honest, I've been enjoying a break from this wiki, but I read something recently about microgrants being difficult to evaluate because of a lack of information provided by recipients and, much as I question whether I want to play a part in WMUK currently, I believe grants like these are one of the most useful things chapters can do to support editors. So, in the interests of this one being properly evaluated, I'll note here that there exists at en:User:HJ/G a log of contributions I've made with reference to this book. Harry Mitchell (talk) 23:43, 23 October 2014 (BST)

Discussion

Thank you for your application. I have notified the Grants Committee to review and offer comments on what they think of the application. -- Katie Chan (WMUK) (talk) 16:18, 4 September 2014 (BST)

Comments by CT Cooper

Hello Harry. Thank you for your application. Overall, I'm happy to give this my support as it obviously falls within our mission and as a long-standing contributor, you can be trusted to make the most of this book. This book will of-course become part of the library so other users can make use of it if they wish. On the price, Amazon marketplaces sellers seem to be selling new copies for quite a bit less than Amazon themselves. As of now, betterworldbooksltd are the cheapest. However, I personally would go with Speedyhen Ltd as they have a better customer rating and are only a tiny bit more expensive. They're selling it for £33.95 plus £2.80 postage, giving a total price of £36.75. I agree that there's no point buying a used copy as there hardly any cheaper than a new one and we wouldn't be getting good value for money. On getting the book to you, I think sending it directly to your address is the easiest option – this can be done whether the charity orders for you or you order itself and ask to be reimbursed. I hope that helps. CT Cooper · talk 21:50, 5 September 2014 (BST)

Okay, Harry, I take you've got the book okay. Thank you for the link. CT Cooper · talk 22:29, 25 October 2014 (BST)

Comments from sjgknight

Looks good to me Harry, and I'd be very happy to support you as a longstanding contributor. Office can advise on purchase and any monitoring of the grant. As User:CT Cooper says the book will become part of the WMUK library, so it'd be good to just monitor how you're getting on with it in case your priorities shift but someone else wants to pick up on it, but I think the description you give of a lightweight project to pickup as and when sounds generally very worthwhile. Thanks! Sjgknight (talk) 14:11, 6 September 2014 (BST)