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Grants:Project/Rapid/ALA Annual 2018 Edit-a-Thon

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statusFunded
RachelWex/ALA Annual 2018 Edit-a-Thon
The Social Responsibility Roundtable of the American Library Association has invited me to the annual American Library Association conference in New Orleans to educate librarians on Wikipedia editing, as well as to facilitate an edit-a-thon focused on Women in Library History. In the process, I am educating my librarian colleagues from across the country on how to prepare for and facilitate an edit-a-thon so that they can do it at their libraries.
targetMy work at the 2018 American Library Association conference supports Women in Red, #1lib1ref, Art and Feminism, and the broader goal of increasing the number of Wikipedian librarians, women, and minority populations in contributing to Wikipedia. While the work will primarily support English Wikipedia, it is possible that female-identified librarians from multiple countries--including non-English speaking countries--will be added to Wikipedia. I can tweet these entries to the appropriate Wikipedia / Wikimedia groups for translation.
start dateMon April 16, 2018 (to make air reservation)
end dateJune 26, 2018
budget (local currency)$943.91
budget (USD)$943.91
grant typeindividual
grantee• [[User:RachelWex (talk)|RachelWex (talk)]]
contact(s)• rswexelbaum(_AT_)stcloudstate.edu


Review your report

Please see the sample Travel application before drafting your application.

Project Goal

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Choose one or more of the following goals. You can add or delete goals as needed.

  1. Expand network of potential partners
  2. Increase awareness of Wikimedia projects
  3. Recruit new editors
  4. Increase librarian engagement in Wikimedia projects
  5. Build national Wikipedian librarian network in the United States

Project Plan

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Activities

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Tell us how you'll carry out your project. Be sure to answer the following questions:

1. What is the purpose of the event you're attending and why is it important that you attend? The American Library Association Annual conference is the major national conference for all librarians in the United States. The conference covers all topics and skills that librarians need to learn. This is the first year that the American Library Association is organizing a Wikipedia training and edit-a-thon. It is important that I attend this event because I was asked by the Social Responsibility Roundtable to present on Wikipedia, facilitate training, and facilitate the edit-a-thon.

2. Will you be presenting at the event? I will be presenting as well as facilitating the edit-a-thon.

3. What kind of outreach activity do you plan to do? I will give a library-focused presentation on Wikipedia as well as conduct an edit-a-thon for librarians. During the conference I will promote Wikipedia--as well as the edit-a-thon--through tabling at the conference, social media blasts, and handouts. I will not only reach out to new people, but also existing Wikipedian librarians to find out how Wikipedia / Wikimedia is supporting them. As I am now a member of the Wikipedia Library Steering Committee, connecting with new and existing Wikipedian librarians will be important to find out their awareness of Wikipedia Library and other forms of Wikipedia support, as well as what is working well for them and where they are having challenges.

4. How will you let other participants know about your outreach activity? Before the conference I will create a Wikipedia Meetup page for the event. I will also have all of the state library associations, as well as ALA, send out social media blasts about the event. During the conference I will promote Wikipedia through tabling at the conference, social media blasts, and handouts. The Wikipedia events will also appear in the conference schedule (at this time the organizers are firming up dates, times, and location(s) for the events.

5. Do you have a specific networking plan? (e.g. specific people, organizations, groups you would like to develop partnerships with) I will contact ALA's Office for Diversity, Literacy, and Outreach Services, which coordinates activities with five committees, four ALA roundtables, and seven ALA affiliate organizations. The complete list of these groups is available here: http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/diversity/groups

These committees, roundtables, and affiliate organizations involve librarians from / working with minority, rural, and other marginalized populations.

I will also reach out to the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), and PLA (Public Libraries Assoociation) to determine their interest in Wikipedia involvement/support.

6. What is your plan to follow-up with new contacts?

I will collect the names and contact information of all people who attended the presentation and edit-a-thon, as well as those who said that they have interest in Wikipedia events but perhaps did not attend the conference edit-a-thon due to other commitments. I will share all presentation materials, as well as information about communication channels (the Wikipedia + Libraries listserv, Facebook page, etc) and state / local Wikipedia chapters so that they can continue their Wikipedia work if they so choose.

Impact

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How will you know if the project is successful and you've met your goals? Please include the following targets as applicable:

  1. Number of presentation attendees: 20 or more
  2. Number of new potential partners: At least one of the sixteen groups that liaise with the Office of Diversity, Literacy, and Outreach Services, as well as ALA's Office for Diversity, Literacy, and Outreach Services, the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), and PLA (Public Libraries Association).
  3. Number of outreach activity participants: 20 or more
  4. Number of new editors: 20 or more
  5. Number of of articles created or improved: 20 or more

Resources

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What resources do you have? Include in-kind donations or additional funding. Rachel Wexelbaum, the head organizer of this event, is a librarian and experienced Wikipedia editor/edit-a-thon facilitator. She has served as a guide for the Wikipedia + Libraries MOOC and connects librarians engaged in Wikipedia work across Minnesota, the United States, and the world. Two librarian colleagues from the Social Responsibility Roundtable are securing conference/hotel space with free wi-fi access, shuttle buses to the venue, laptops to those who need them, and access to a wide array of books, EBooks, research databases, and government documents through trial access to databases offered by vendors at the conference. They will also be providing food for the edit-a-thon. My professional development funds are sufficient to cover conference registration. Food for the edit-a-thon will also be provided by ALA. The Social Responsibility Roundtable is also seeking free access to databases from EBSCO and ProQuest, since they will be at the conference as well.

What resources do you need? For your funding request, list bullet points for each expense and include a total amount.

ITEM/SERVICE COST BREAKDOWN COST
Travel Estimated roundtrip flight from Minneapolis International Airport to Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, including Executive Express van from St Cloud, MN to Minneapolis International Airport $500.00
Room and board Reservation for 4 nights at the Royal St Charles Hotel; staying with room-mate so paying half the hotel expense: $149 per night x 4 nights = $596.00 + $91.92 taxes and fees = $687.82 / 2 $343.91
Food $100.00
TOTAL COST $943.91 '

I also request conference swag (stickers and buttons) as well as instructional booklets for attendees.


Endorsements

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Community members are encouraged to endorse your project request here!

  • This would be a great outreach activity. Strongly support! TeriEmbrey (talk) 21:42, 11 March 2018 (UTC)
  • I have worked with RachelWex on several edit-a-thons over the last few years and can vouch that she would make an excellent representative for this event. -McGhiever (talk) 23:11, 11 March 2018 (UTC)


  •   Support Slowking4 (talk) 00:40, 12 March 2018 (UTC)
  •   Support I have met RachelWex at a couple edit-a-thons. She's motivated and has great ideas. This proposal would increase the number of librarians contributing to Wikipedia, thereby supporting #1lib1ref, and potentially sparking interest in edit-a-thons at their home libraries. = Paul2520 (talk) 03:06, 12 March 2018 (UTC)
  •   Support Merrilee (talk) 18:21, 12 March 2018 (UTC)
  •   Support --Rosiestep (talk) 19:00, 12 March 2018 (UTC)
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