Grants:Project/Rapid/A Sharable Cyber Home for Copyright-Expired Goa Books
gmail.com
Please see the sample Equipment application before drafting your application.
Project Goal
editChoose one or more of the following goals. You can add or delete goals as needed. You can add details to each goal. For example, if you want to add content on a specific subject.
- Add content
- Promote access to copyright-expired books
- Revive interest in decades/centuries-old writing from/on a small but historic region
- Promote linguistic diversity in local knowledge
- Ensure that scanned works are actually shared, and not just stored only on a computer hard-disk
- Undertake new WikiSource initiatives related to Goa, where only a few currently exist
Project Plan
editActivities
editTell us how you'll carry out your project. Be sure to answer the following questions:
1. What content gaps will you be filling with the equipment?
- Goa, the smallest federal province (locally called a "state") on the west coast of India, has many books waiting to be both digitised AND shared freely. Many old texts have not been scanned/OCRd, and those which have, have often not been shared. This initiative will aim specifically at scanning local copyright-expired books and making the same available online, via WikiSource [1], used as inputs for the Konkani Wikipedia [2], etc. The grant will be spent on a book scanner capable of undertaking speedy book scans.
2. What activities will you organize in the next 6 months to create content and use it on Wikimedia projects?
- a. Crowdsourced collection of scannable copyright-free Goa-related books
- b. Seeking support from the Goa Wiki informal group on WhatsApp for this purpose
- c. Aiming to scan and share a minimum of 100 Goa-related books within two years of operation
- d. Seeking help from librarians and local libraries to get access to suitable, copyright-expired, copyable books or to undertake scanning camps in centres where such books are available and permission is granted.
3. How will the equipment be shared/tracked/cared for by members of your community?
- For the purpose of accountability, the applicant offers to house and care for the equipment. To obtain maximum utility, the equipment will be loaned out to other reliable Wiki volunteers or librarians who show an ability to take care of the equipment. In cases where convenient, the scannings will be done on a voluntary basis in situ and shared online once done.
4. How long will the equipment be used, and by whom?
- For a minimum period of one year, but extendable ideally to at least three years. It will be used by the applicant and is also to be shared with others needing access.
5. Is there anything else you want to tell us about this project?
- Books which are currently being scanned, are not being shared (including by institutions which are concerned that making these available online could decrease the uniqueness of their institution). This initiative is meant to show that the impact will be quite the contrary, boosting the institutions involved as centres for sharing such resources. A lot of books published in or about Goa are not even widely known today, indicative of a huge loss of knowledge and access. This initiative could help to build interest in local material available, and also boost the visibility/awareness of WikiSource/the Konkani Wikipedia and other sharable knowledge projects as a whole once its benefits are accessible to a wider audience.
6. Query over paid work for Wikipedia?
- The applicant is not currently doing any paid work for the WMF and neither does he have an application for paid work that is currently under review
Impact
editHow will you know if the project is successful and you've met your goals? Please include the following targets and feel free to add more:
- Expect to create and share online (WikiSource, Konkani Wikipedia, etc) a minimum of one hundred books in the first two years of operation.
- Sharing approx 500 to 1000 photos related to Goa, from copyright-expired/free sources via Wikimedia Commons in the first two years.
- Building and involvement of a core team of around six volunteers, to aid by way of locating and sharing suitable books, sharing information about the project and the sharable material created, outreach to libraries or researchers and others who could benefit.
Resources
editWhat resources do you have? Include information on who is organizing the project, what they will do, and if you will receive support from anywhere else (in-kind donations or additional funding).
- The grant sought is for a high-speed book scanner. At present, the applicant has access to his own computer/s, software, etc. The applicant is himself a serious collector of Goa-related books (over 3000+ in his collection, including some likely candidates for this project), has been a Wikipedian since 2006 and got the process started for the incubation of the Konkani Wikipedia. The proposer has already created and shared a large amount of Goa-related audio content via the archive.org site at [3] Volunteer work will help to optimally make use of the equipment sought.
What resources do you need? For your funding request, list bullet points for each expense and include a total amount.
- CZUR ET16 Plus CZUR Book & Document Scanner with Smart OCR. Price in India is Rs 42,000 [4]
Endorsements
editCommunity members are encouraged to endorse your project request here!