Information about the planning and evaluation will be added to this page. For more information on the planning and evaluation of the project for the Library, talk to
Aliaretiree (Project Leader) or
Rubicon49bce (Project Officer).
Goals
In partnership with Wikimedia Australia (Wm-Au), the Library is working to add authoritative content to Wikipedia and to encourage other public libraries in New South Wales to do the same. The goal is to share the State's stories with the world along with information about its people and places. One aspect of the project included hosting the Wikipedian in Residence.
The two organisations have complementary goals:
For the State Library of New South Wales (SLNSW), engagement with Wikimedia Australia constituted one of a series of Innovation projects that aim to explore new ways of making the Library's collections more accessible and engaging with online communities.
For Wikimedia Australia (Wm-Au), the primary goal was to establish a sustainable partnership with the Library whose staff experts and collection are highly significant sources of reference material for articles and images related to Wikiproject Australia, Wikiproject New South Wales and Wikiproject Sydney.
Objectives
To achieve these goals, the partnership project and a pilot team of staff had the following objectives:
train SLNSW staff to edit Wikipedia
engage effectively with the Wikipedia community at large
develop specialised Wikipedia editing procedures for newspaper entries that can be shared with other Australian libraries
contribute images to the Wikimedia Commons
determine suitable content for Wikipedia articles (eg. Indigenous material; Australia’s involvement in World War 1; convict women / convict artists; crossing of the Blue Mountains)
create and/or develop articles relevant to the two organisation's goals of making Australia's material more available and accessible
develop an ongoing relationship between SLNSW and Wm-Au
evaluate the project and the activities of the working group.
Evaluation
Objective 1: Train SLNSW staff to edit Wikipedia
Objective 1: Outputs
Two general staff training sessions
Masterclass and additional training for working group of 14 staff members
Support provided to other staff members through information sharing and individual coaching by Wikipedian in Residence
Individual coaching and problem solving provided to working group members by Wikipedian in Residence
48 new articles created on Wikipedia during the working group
57 articles edited substantially on Wikipedia (minor edits not counted)
Objective 1: Outcomes
A cohort of library staff extending beyond the original project group have enough confidence, skill and interest to continue editing Wikipedia.
Objective 2: Engage effectively with the Wikipedia community at large
Objective 2: Outputs
Staff user pages
Two new relevant user boxes
Objective 2: Outcomes
Staff engage with other Wikipedia editors via article and user talk pages
Staff understand concepts of 'notability', 'verifiability' and 'conflict of interest'.
Objective 3: Develop procedures for newspaper entries that can be shared with other Australian libraries
Articles for more than 70 newspapers published in New South Wales created and/or edited by April 2013 (work is ongoing; for more information see the
Newspaper Project page)
Ongoing workflow for newspaper article creation by staff members created and published on the
project page
Objective 3: Outcomes
Parent and child newspaper articles and lists aligned with form and structure of similar Wikipedia groupings
Procedures created and circulated with other Australian library stakeholders
New workflow in use by library staff.
Objective 4: Contribute images to the Wikimedia Commons
Objective 4: Outputs
PD-Australia images contributed to the Commons for all newspaper articles created
Images of SLNSW collection objects contributed to the Commons using a template and OTRS procedures, and
usage of these images tracked
Three discrete Commons Categories for SLNSW images
Objective 4: Outcomes
PD images from the Library's collection available for use in articles across all language Wikipedias.
Objective 5: Determine suitable content for Wikipedia articles
Objective 5: Outputs
SLNSW article enhanced with factual information following extensive consultation with Library stakeholders and Wikipedian in Residence
All articles created include appropriate references and links to SLNSW content where cited
Articles identified and listed for future development.
Objective 5: Outcomes
SLNSW capacity developed to continue contributing and improving articles related to the Library's collection
Wikipedia work introduced into Library workflow and project planning.
Objective 6: Create and/or develop articles relevant to the two organisations' goals of making Australia's material more available and accessible
Objective 6: Outputs
Project page
The
1813 Crossing of the Blue Mountains article created by Library staff was nominated to “Did You Know” status on the front page of the encyclopedia (receiving 8,798 page views in eight hours on the day it was listed)
Objective 7: Develop an ongoing relationship between SLNSW and Wikimedia Australia
Objective 7: Outputs
Editathons hosted by SLNSW (three planned editathons on World War I and one related to temporary exhibitions in the Library's AMAZE Gallery based on content from Blue Mountains historical collection material), including the dedicated contribution of SLNSW experts
Media release (20 May 2013) about the residency and project in general resulted in four radio interviews, including one with the State Librarian and Chief Executive, press coverage and the blog of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA)
Objective 7: Outcomes
Collaboration with other local Wikimedia activities such as the HE Symposium and
Inside History magazine
Library willingness and commitment to support and collaboration in editathons
Engagement of Library curators and experts in backstage passes and editathons
Greater public awareness of Wikipedia and Wikimedia Australia
Acceptance of engagement with Wikimedia by senior SLNSW management.
Objective 8: Evaluate the project and the activities of the working group
Objective 8: Outputs
Reports on Residency provided to
Month in GLAM; Wikimedia-Au Committee and broader Wiki community; WMF Evaluation Workshop; SLNSW senior management
Assessment of online engagement using Google analytics, Wiki metrics
Objective 8: Outcomes
Enhanced understanding of program and project evaluation.
Benchmarking
As a large cultural institution, the State Library of New South Wales chooses benchmarks from across the GLAM (galleries, libraries, archives and museums) sector seeking examples of best practice and good practice from around the world.
The articles and editing projects undertaken by other large libraries and museums were given particular consideration including examples of library and museum articles in Wikipedia eg. Library of Congress, British Library, The Children's Museum of Indianapolis and the British Museum.