Grants:TPS/Thelmadatter/Seminar on the Acquisition of Latin American Library Materials

User name

Thelmadatter

User location (country)

Mexico

Event name

Seminar on the Acquisition of Latin American Library Materials

Event Web site

http://salalm.org/Conf/

Event date(s)

17-22 May 2013

Event location (city)

Coral Gables, Florida, USA

Amount requested (remember to specify currency!)

840 USD

Endorsements

• Leigh's participation was actually triggered by an email I received through my work as a Wikimedia fellow. Leigh's experience working with Latin American communities and her fluency in Spanish made her a natural person to suggest she participate in this conference. I hope the committee will consider supporting her. SarahStierch (talk) 16:48, 4 March 2013 (UTC)

Budget breakdown

• Travel: USD 500 round-trip economy class ticket from Mexico City to Miami, Florida
• Accommodation: USD 80 per night x 3 nights = USD 240
• Ground transportation between Miami and Coral Gables, Florida USD 100

Proposed Participation

I am an active Wikipedian. As an editor, I write articles on Mexico in English. I also combine Wikipedia with my teaching job at ITESM-Campus Ciudad de México, with students working with the encyclopedia both inside and outside the classroom, with the great support of our campus library. I have been invited to give a presentation AND a introductory workshop to a library organization with strong ties not only to Latin America but also to many universities both in Latin America and the United States.

Goal and Expected Impact

The presentation will show how collaboration with Wikimedia is important for libraries and academics, especially on topics related to Latin America, an area in which Wikipedia still sorely lacks. I will be using both the British Library's and my campus's activities as examples of both importance and how to collaborate. The workshop is for those who want to get started familiarizing themselves with Wikipedia right away. I found that after my presentation at the museum conference in Albuquerque last November that while many were enthused, they felt too disconnected from Wikipedia after I left to really continue. With the workshop, the aim is that at least some will have enough experience to know how to continue experimentation, needing only online help from me or others if there are no Wikipedians near them.