Grants:TPS/Wittylama/Brisbane Library conferences

User name: Wittylama
User location (country): Australia
Event name: New Librarians Symposium & Australian Libraries and Information Association (ALIA) conferences.
Event Web site: http://www.alia.org.au/conferences/2013.html [note, both conferences shown at this link]
Event date(s): February 9-14
Event location (city): Brisbane, Australia
Amount requested (remember to specify currency!): $685. Australian Dollars.
Endorsements: Wikimedia Australia

Budget breakdown

$245 for return flights. Economy flight with Virgin, no checked baggage, cheapest flights of the day.
$390 for three nights accommodation in motel. Cheapest place around :-) Will stay at Wikimedians house for other days.
$50 return airport transfer / expenses.
I have received complimentary registration to both conferences already, this is not an expense.

Proposed Participation

I will be attending two conferences sequentially both on the topic of Libraries with a heavy emphasis on digital engagement. Sue Gardner is a keynote speaker at both of these events and I am to be her introducer on stage/session moderator. I will also be participating in several of the sessions - as there are many that are specifically focused on crowdsourcing and/or online copyright. There is a specific "Wikimedia" session at one conference, a Wikimedia desk in the foyer - both of which I will be helping to coordinate. This is directly applicable to both my Wikimedia experience in GLAM-WIKI and also my recent studies in Intellectual Property.

Goal and Expected Impact

As a result of attending these conferences I will help to increase the legitimacy and visibility of Wikimedia and free-culture in the national library sector. Wikimedia in Australia has many prospective projects with local libraries, notably the oldest in the country which is currently ramping-up an in-house Wikipedian training program for their staff (which I have been assisting with) w:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:GLAM/SLNSW. I also have several professional contacts at the National Library of Australia which I wish to use this opportunity to further embed our relationship. The NLA was the first institution in the world to use Wikipedia "citation codes" in their library catalogue search, something I wish to make sure is emphasises to other institutions.

It is very reasonably expected that if the Wikimedia presence at these conferences is successful that there will be very soon announced the first Wikipedian in Residence projects in Australian cultural institutions. Given that I began the GLAM-WIKI movement here in 2009, it has been a long time coming and the work of a lot of people to get us to this stage of respectability.