Grants:Project/OCLC/Action Plan for Wikipedia + Libraries Training in Mexico

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Project Grants

Action Plan for Wikipedia + Libraries Training in Mexico

summaryOCLC will investigate the viability of and approach to a Wikipedia+Libraries training program for library staff in Mexico, to leverage the libraries in support of the Wikimedia Foundation’s New Readers initiative. This project will identify a Mexico-based organization that would lead the training, develop an advisory group, and produce an action plan for how to design and deliver the training.

targetSpanish Wikipedia

type of grantoffline programs and events

amountUSD 30,625

type of applicantorganization

grantee• Thinktower

contact• streamss@oclc.org

created on23:19, 27 November 2018 (UTC)

Friendly space expectations

Project idea

What is the problem you're trying to solve?

What problem are you trying to solve by doing this project? This problem should be small enough that you expect it to be completely or mostly resolved by the end of this project. Remember to review the tutorial for tips on how to answer this question.

Librarians are stewards of quality information, standard bearers for information literacy, and curators of authoritative collections that serve the diverse information needs of their communities. These qualities make libraries a natural partner for extending free and open access to the world’s knowledge through Wikipedia. But, to guide its effective use, librarians need to understand how Wikipedia can promote the library’s role as a trusted, reliable local hub for learning, knowledge creation and sharing.

In the U.S., OCLC successfully raised awareness and understanding of English-language Wikipedia’s uses by leveraging its WebJunction program, which designs, delivers, and scales learning opportunities for library staff across the US and beyond. In fall of 2017, our 9-week “Wikipedia+Libraries: Better Together” course trained nearly 300 library staff; these information professionals are now better equipped to support community members’ and students’ use of and engagement with Wikipedia (see Outcomes and Impacts). The success of that training program is in large part attributed to the planning, research, outreach and relationship building undertaken by the project team. These activities ensured that the project would be able to meet its goals and the training program would be worth participants’ time and meet their learning needs. The planning phase informed how the curriculum was designed and delivered and by whom, how library participants were recruited, how participant interest was sustained throughout the training, as well as how Wikipedia volunteers were engaged and how a diversity of librarian voices and perspectives were included. Aspects of this approach are described in our documented learning pattern, “Meeting the learning needs of US public library staff new to Wikipedia with online training”. The curriculum is now open and freely available for others to adapt to use; bearing in mind that it was designed expressly for US public librarians engaging with English-language Wikipedia.

Meanwhile, the Wikimedia Foundation is working to improve recognition of Wikipedia and understanding of its uses among internet users in Mexico. Its 2016 New Readers research indicated that there is currently “medium” Wikipedia awareness in Mexico (~55% surveyed say they have never heard of Wikipedia) but with “low” brand trust. This year, Wikimedia Mexico, WMF staff, and other Wikimedians have been working on a strategic marketing project targeting students and general internet users in Mexico. The first in a series of promotional videos was recently completed. The Mexico chapter has also facilitated some successful 1bib1ref campaigns with university libraries in the region. It is great timing to build on these efforts with deliberate outreach to libraries to bring their capacities (services, expertise, information, reach) to the initiative while offering a professional development opportunity in return.

It is an attractive idea simply to translate the OCLC course and extend the training to library staff in Mexico, so that their libraries can support efforts to increase the awareness, use, and trust in Wikipedia as a reliable knowledge resource. However, Mexico’s library ecosystem and infrastructure is quite different from that of the US; these differences affect capacity, priorities, stakeholders, communication channels, resources, and professional development for librarians as well as attitudes toward and use of libraries by the public. All of those factors must be considered when planning a training program that we want to be successful; i.e., be relevant to and accessible by Mexico’s library workforce and support WMF’s New Reader outcomes.

What is your solution?

For the problem you identified in the previous section, briefly describe your how you would like to address this problem. We recognize that there are many ways to solve a problem. We’d like to understand why you chose this particular solution, and why you think it is worth pursuing. Remember to review the tutorial for tips on how to answer this question.

OCLC will set the stage for a successful Wikipedia+Libraries training program in Mexico by engaging with regional stakeholders to develop an action plan that identifies the key organizations, the opportunities and barriers, and recommended approach to designing and delivering training to library staff in Mexico. We believe a planning phase is essential because:

• If libraries are to be enlisted as a partner to help WMF reach new Wikipedia readers, we must be able to demonstrate how doing so will support their libraries’ needs, the needs of their users, and the professional development needs of Mexican librarians. This argument must be developed with a clear understanding of the library ecosystem, direct engagement with and input from Mexico librarians and library stakeholders, and a supportive network of advisors.
• Before the training can be implemented, a Mexico-based organization that has the capacity and interest to design and deliver the training at scale (beyond a single library or institution), and that can reach librarians in that region, must be identified.

Project goals

What are your goals for this project? Your goals should describe the top two or three benefits that will come out of your project. These should be benefits to the Wikimedia projects or Wikimedia communities. They should not be benefits to you individually. Remember to review the tutorial for tips on how to answer this question.

Produce an action plan for delivering a Wikipedia+Libraries training program for library staff in Mexico, so that libraries and library staff in Mexico can benefit from a well-constructed and implemented training program that will help them to guide community members’ understanding and use of Wikipedia, increase their information literacy skills, and expand their access to free reliable information on the Web.

Project impact

How will you know if you have met your goals?

For each of your goals, we’d like you to answer the following questions:

1. During your project, what will you do to achieve this goal? (These are your outputs.)
2. Once your project is over, how will it continue to positively impact the Wikimedia community or projects? (These are your outcomes.)

For each of your answers, think about how you will capture this information. Will you capture it with a survey? With a story? Will you measure it with a number? Remember, if you plan to measure a number, you will need to set a numeric target in your proposal (e.g. 45 people, 10 articles, 100 scanned documents). Remember to review the tutorial for tips on how to answer this question.

Outputs: The project will produce

• A summary of our research into and outreach to Mexican libraries
• Analysis and recommendation for training implementation
• Action plan for implementing training pilot and how it would scale beyond the pilot
• Identified lead organization and partners for implementation of training

Outcomes: We anticipate the action plan will include one of the following scenarios:

1. National Training Partner(s) Identified. An optimal outcome for this project would be that at least one national organization in Mexico is identified as viable for leading a Wikipedia + Libraries training program to library staff across Mexico.
2. Regional Training Partner(s) Identified. If a national organization is not discovered, the project identifies at least one, and up to three, Mexican state or regional government agencies, libraries or library organizations that are in the position to deliver Wikipedia + Libraries training broadly to library staff across regions of Mexico.
3. Library System Training Partner(s) Identified. If unable to discover partners with national or state-wide reach, the project identifies one, and up to three, library systems or library support organizations who currently provide training to their own or other local library staff, and are interested in, and have the capacity to create and deliver a pilot Wikipedia + Libraries training program that can be replicated and disseminated to other libraries and organizations throughout Mexico.

In addition, the project will

• cultivate, strengthen, and/or expand partnerships that can support New Reader goals in Mexico
• via the action plan, provide the foundation for a proposal to secure funds to implement the training program
• provide the Wikimedia community with a working example of integrating human-centered design and action planning into a bold approach
• give the Wikimedia community more information about the Mexican library ecosystem that can inform future work in that region.

As OCLC Research, we continually seek ways to disseminate knowledge and resources to those who can reuse and adapt it for their purposes. We also want to avoid duplication of effort and inefficient use of libraries' limited capacities. Therefore, we will use a set of communication channels to make sure that the outputs and associated learning from this project are distributed to a broadly relevant audience in both the Wikimedia and library communities. Distribution channels that we can use include:

• The Wikimedia and Libraries User Group (248 Members)
• The Wikipedia + Libraries Facebook page (1,923 Members)
• OCLC’s Research website (240,000 unique visitors annually)
• Hanging Together blog (74,000 visitors annually)
• WebJunction.org website (370,000 unique visitors annually)
• Crossroads e-newsletter (21,000 subscribers)
• OCLC Abstracts newsletter and Next blog

We also regularly present at library conferences and Wikimedia conferences, and will consider proposal submissions based on this project, for IFLA World Library and Information Conference and GLAM Wikiconference in particular.

Do you have any goals around participation or content?

Are any of your goals related to increasing participation within the Wikimedia movement, or increasing/improving the content on Wikimedia projects? If so, we ask that you look through these three metrics, and include any that are relevant to your project. Please set a numeric target against the metrics, if applicable. Remember to review the tutorial for tips on how to answer this question.

There are no goals around participation or content for this planning project.

Project plan

Activities

Tell us how you'll carry out your project. What will you and other organizers spend your time doing? What will you have done at the end of your project? How will you follow-up with people that are involved with your project?

Over the course of 5 months, the project will:

1. Hire a bilingual (Spanish and English) regional outreach coordinator who will be our Mexico-based researcher and liaison to Mexican libraries, Wikipedians, and other regional project stakeholders.

2. With input from project advisors, collect information about the public, academic, and school library ecosystems/infrastructure that documents:

• Descriptions of national and regional library systems, professional library associations, and training organizations, and key contacts at those organizations
• How professional development for library workers is supported and organized; and the formal and informal communications channels that are used to share information with and among library professionals
• How accessible librarians are to the general public and students, and their forms of interaction
• The competency level of librarians around web and information literacy
• Prevailing attitudes about, and use of, Wikipedia by librarians (this may be mostly anecdotal).

3. With input from project advisors, gather information about existing or past projects, Wikipedians-in-Residence experiences, and GLAM-Wiki partnerships that can inform a localized Wikipedia+Libraries training program.

4. Contact key organizations and individuals for exploratory conversations to learn more and to cultivate a network of advisors, partners, stakeholders, project personnel, funders, subject matter experts, etc. The project will benefit from the networks and partnerships that have already been cultivated between Wikimedia and libraries and/or library organizations in Mexico.

5. Identify an organization or agency in Mexico that has the capacity, interest, and alignment to lead a scalable (beyond a single institution or library) training program for Mexico library staff.

6. Drawing upon the input from the previous activities, document an action plan for the Wikipedia+Libraries in Mexico training program. The plan will include the scope, approach, stakeholders and their roles, estimated budget and timeline, intended outcomes, and impact.

Budget

How you will use the funds you are requesting? List bullet points for each expense. (You can create a table later if needed.) Don’t forget to include a total amount, and update this amount in the Probox at the top of your page too!

The funds (USD 30,625) will be used to cover salaries and fringe benefits for 684 hours of labor time, plus overhead.

• OCLC staff: USD 19,430
• Regional Outreach Consultant: USD 7,200
• Overhead: USD 3,995

An additional USD 1,507 will be contributed by OCLC as cost share.

Community engagement

Community input and participation helps make projects successful. How will you let others in your community know about your project? Why are you targeting a specific audience? How will you engage the community you’re aiming to serve during your project?

The planned activities include outreach to and discussions with representatives of Mexico library organizations, and drawing upon advice and experience of community members working with Spanish Wikipedia and in Mexico libraries. Some of those already identified as people or organizations to approach are:

• Wikipedia Mexico Chapter
• Mexico Ministry of Culture
• Silvia Gutiérrez de la Torre, digital humanities librarian at ColMex
• Aidee Murrieta, WIR at ColMex
• Alex Hinojo, who did a project with Catalan public libraries and knows the Spanish Wikipedia space well. https://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/GLAM/Case_studies/Catalonia%27s_Network_of_Public_Libraries
• Jesús Lau
• Edwar Delgado, OCLC staff member located in Mexico City.

This engagement has already begun. For example, Merrilee attended the 2018 GLAM WikiConference in Israel and had the opportunity to discuss the project with Wikimedia Mexico chair Ivan Martinez while there. At that time, Ivan indicated that he was positively inclined towards this partnership, but that because January 2019 marked an administration transition in Mexican government, it would take some time to establish new connections with the relevant federal ministry. Merrilee also co-presented with Silvia Gutierrez and Aidee Murrieta, and discussed with them how their experience at ColMex to help inform and shape a national approach to engage Mexican librarians.

Additionally, we will make use of spaces where librarians who work with Wikimedia--and Wikimedians who work with librarians--are already gathering: specifically the Libraries Wikimedia mailing list, the Wikimedia and Libraries user group, and the Wikipedia + Libraries Facebook page. We would use those channels to communicate with community members who would be interested in giving input to the project or simply staying apprised of our progress.

Get involved

Participants

Please use this section to tell us more about who is working on this project. For each member of the team, please describe any project-related skills, experience, or other background you have that might help contribute to making this idea a success.

OCLC staff will inlude:

• Dale Musselman, Learning Manager, WebJunction, will oversee the work of the Regional Outreach consultant and be primarily responsible for the development of the Action Plan. Dale was a co-designer for the US Wikipedia+Libraries curriculum.
• Merrilee Proffitt, Senior Manager, OCLC Research, will serve as internal advisor
• Sharon Streams, Director, WebJunction, will serve as project director and support development of the Action Plan. Merrilee and Sharon were leads for the Wikipedia+Libraries project.
• Kendra Morgan, Senior Manager, WebJunction, will serve as grant administrator and provide financial oversight.

Discussions with potential advisors are currently underway, including those mentioned under Community Engagement.

Community notification

Please paste links below to where relevant communities have been notified of your proposal, and to any other relevant community discussions. You are responsible for notifying relevant communities of your proposal, so that they can help you! Depending on your project, notification may be most appropriate on a Village Pump, talk page, mailing list, etc. Need notification tips?

• Libraries list (Wikimedia listserv)
• Wikipedia + Libraries Facebook group

Endorsements

Do you think this project should be selected for a Project Grant? Please add your name and rationale for endorsing this project below! (Other constructive feedback is welcome on the discussion page).