Grants:Project/Rapid/mjecclestone A+F/Nanaimo Wikipedia Edit-a-thon

statusFunded
VIU Library's Wikipedia Edit-a-thon in celebration of Women's History Month
We are organizing Nanaimo, BC's first-ever Wikipedia Edit-a-thon at Vancouver Island University. We will be holding this event in March, in celebration of Women's History Month, and in affiliation with Art + Feminism.
targetArt + Feminism, english Wikipedia
start dateMarch 8, 2018
end dateMarch 31, 2018
budget (local currency)$575 CAD
budget (USD)$460 USD
grant typeOrganization
non-profit statusYes
granteemjecclestone
contact(s)• editathon(_AT_)viu.ca• meg.ecclestone@viu.ca, andie.tomlinson@viu.ca
organization (if applicable)• Vancouver Island University
website (if applicable)https://library.viu.ca


Review your report

Project Goal

edit

Choose one or more of the following goals. You can add or delete goals as needed.

  1. Recruit new editors, with special emphasis on recruiting editors who are underrepresented in Wikipedia’s editor makeup (women, people of colour, LGBTQ+ identified, and indigenous people)
  2. Increase skills for existing editors
  3. Add or improve content, with particular emphasis on content related to notable women, in celebration of Women's History Month and International Women's Day

Project Plan

edit

Activities

edit

Tell us how you'll carry out your project. Be sure to answer the following questions:

1. Are you doing one editathon or training or a series of editathons or trainings?

We are organizing one edit-a-thon, which will include editor training, hands-on editing time, and discussion.

2. How will you let your community know about the event? Please paste links below to where relevant communities have been notified of your proposal, and to any other relevant community discussions.

3. Do you have experienced Wikimedia editors to lead the event?

Yes, an experienced guest Wikipedian who specializes in transgender archives is joining us from Victoria, BC -- the nearest major city on Vancouver Island. It proved difficult to find an experienced Wikipedian willing to join us in Nanaimo (a city of 90,000 people), so we are offering to cover their travel expenses up to Nanaimo (ie. car rental, accommodation, gas etc.).

There will also be several librarians and faculty at the event with some Wikipedia editing experience on-hand to troubleshoot citation and simple editing questions during our event.

4. Do participants have the equipment or skills needed to participate and contribute high quality content? If not, how will you support them? We have a university board room (with a view!) with access to power, free Wifi, whiteboards, and a screen for PowerPoint demonstration slides. We have asked participants to BYO laptops and power cords, however we will also have extra laptops on hand if needed (borrowed from the library's Equipment Loans collection).

We will be looking at digital repositories of open access scholarship and special collections to encourage editing of pages and stubs on local women as a part of our event.

We also have the option to re-locate to a computer lab next door, which we have booked for the afternoon as backup.

5. How will you engage participants after the event(s)?

After the event comes to a close, we will encourage ongoing discussions at the university pub for all interested. Post-event, we will be exploring a VIU Wikipedia Community of Practice for faculty members interested in integrating Wikipedia into their teaching and ongoing scholarly research. Our library colleagues are planning a second edit-a-thon event during Open Access Week in the 2018/19 academic year, in order to continue building on local capacity and interest in editing Wikipedia among faculty, students and the broader Nanaimo community alike.


6. Is there anything else you want to tell us about this project?

This will be the first Wikipedia Edit-a-thon ever to be hosted in Nanaimo, BC. As there is currently no local capacity among the mid-island Wikipedians for acting as an experienced guest for these events, we had to recruit from the nearest city on the island (Victoria, BC), which is why we have had to add transportation and accommodation costs to our event. We hope that through this kick-off event in Nanaimo that we will be able to build stronger local capacity within the Wikipedia community here in Nanaimo. We would like to encourage future edit-a-thons and other Wikipedia-related events to happen on Vancouver Island.

Impact

edit

How will you know if the project is successful and you've met your goals? Please include the following targets:

  1. Number of events: 1
  2. Number of participants: 15+
  3. Number of new editors: 10+
  4. Number of articles created or improved: 10+
  5. Number of repeat participants (for projects that include a series of events): n/a

Resources

edit

What 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). In-kind donations

  • Event space: provided by the university library (Vancouver Island University Library)
  • Organizers: Two VIU librarians -- time & wages paid by VIU Library
  • Extra laptops, power cord and other technical equipment: loaned for free from the library's Equipment Loans
  • Poster printing and online Promotions: provided and funded by VIU Library

What resources do you need? For your funding request, list bullet points for each expense and include a total amount.

1. Guest Wikipedian transportation costs for travel/return from Victoria BC to Nanaimo BC = $200 CAD ($160 USD)

2. Guest Wikipedian hotel accommodation in Nanaimo BC = $150 CAD ($120)

3. Guest lunch for Wikipedian = $60 CAD ($48 USD)

4. Food and drinks for the event = $125 CAD ($100 USD)

5. Promotional button-making materials = = $20 CAD ($16 USD)

6. Miscellaneous supplies (name tags, post it sticky notes) = $20 CAD ($16 USD)

Total = $575 CAD ($460 USD)

Thank you for considering our request! -- Meg and Andie

Endorsements

edit

Community members are encouraged to endorse your project request here!