Wikimedia and Libraries User Group/Annual Report/2021-2022

This annual report of the Wikimedia and Libraries User Group covers the year 2021-2022. This report covers the activities of the steering committee of the Wikimedia and Libraries User Group along with related activities to support the engagement of librarians with Wikimedia projects.

2021 Election

The Wikimedia and Libraries User Group held steering committee elections from October 4, 2022 to October 31, 2021. A smaller number of candidates participated in the process than previous years, but the elections still achieved broad geographic representation with elected members from Africa, the Middle East, and North America. Windblow29 serves as the chair of the steering committee.

Steering Committee Meetings

The members of the Steering Commitee meet monthly to discuss business related to the user group and to engage in strategic planning. Among the chief topics we have discussed are how to engage with the members of the user group more actively and to enlist more librarians around the world in our activities.

Wikipedia+Libraries International Convention

The User Group supported the inaugural Wikimedia+Libraries Convention that took place in Maynooth, Ireland. AfricanLibrarian, a member of the Steering Committee, served on the Core Organizing Team of the Convention and also delivered a keynote event. Windblow29 also served on the program committee for the Convention. The User Group also produced a welcome video for the Convention to encourage librarians to become more actively with Wikimedia projects. Three members of the Steering Committee, Windblow29, Orlysi, and AfricanLibrarian, are involved in the planning for the 2023 Wikimedia+Libraries Cohton adjacent to the IFLA meeting in Rotterdam, the Netherlands from August 21-25.

Wikimania Submission

The members of the Steering Committee submitted a proposal for Wikimania 2022 titled "Libraries: Connecting Librarians to Wikimedia Projects Beyond Wikipedia." The submission was not accepted, but we are looking for other venues to share the contents of the proposal.

Wikimedia Summit 2022

Three members of the Steering Committee, Clifford Anderson, Orlysi, and Windblown29, represented the User Group as participants at the Wikimedia Summit in Berlin, Germany on September 9-11.

Newcomer of the Year

AfricanLibrarian, a member of the Steering Committee received the Newcomer of the Year award at Wikimania 2022 for her activites to connect networks of librarians in AfLIA and "to generate over 27,000 edits and counting" for Wikimedia projects. Congratulations, AfricanLibrarian!

In sum, the Wikimedia and Libraries User Group has had an active year despite the lingering challenges of the pandemic for librarians and their institutions. The Steering Committee has developed a draft working plan that it plans to publish in November 2022 for feedback from the User Group. We will be holding new elections in October 2023 and encourage members of the User Group who would like to become more actively involved in the Steering Committee's activities to consider nominating themselves for election.