Wikimedia Conference 2011/Documentation/GLAM outreach

Sorry for not listing every point 
which was mentioned in the discussion. 
Please add your points, in case I forgot them. 

GLAM outreach

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Introduction: Liam Wyatt
Goal: Sharing best practices, ideas, general awareness of what everyone is doing in the GLAM field. Get feedback on what priorities might need to be addressed centrally. Introduce main priorities of the 'Cultural Partnerships Fellow' and identify Chapters interested in focusing on specific areas therein. Discussion: Forming relationships with the cultural sector (museums, libraries etc.) is one of the few areas that is unequivocally a Chapters-level responsibility. It is also an area where successes have been achieved that are useful to the movement and given wide mainstream press coverage. This session will focus on helping Chapters that are "new" to GLAM run their first project, and expanding on the effectiveness of those Chapters already engaged in these activities.

Framing Questions: Which chapters are actively engaged in GLAM activities and which are interested in doing so? Which Chapters have or plan to professionalise these activities (e.g. "outreach mananger")? Which kinds of activities are most useful to the movement and easiest to achieve?

Introduction

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  • http://glamwiki.org
    • this is what Liam learned about
  • no chapter exists
  • a chapter exists, but don't have the money or interest or no ability to support such projects
  • Four most important priorities
    1. Ambassadors & Interns
      • Most useful for small and unexperienced chapters.
    2. Documentation & Case studies
      • As some kind of book (three parts: Theory, Practice, Case studies): Easy to find and comfortable to read for the cultural institutions
    3. Tools & requests
    4. Communications
      • Newsletter
      • Contact (cultural-partners-list)
  • Goal is to build proactive relationships and install contactpartners
  • Who do museums call when they want to talk to Wikipedia?
  • Q: How did the idea of GLAM start?
  • A: GLAM-wiki: Approach to bring cultural institutions together with Wikimedians, because they are doing the same thing to the same people for the same reason: Bring education to the world.
  • Q: How to deal with the flood of material?
  • A: Different kinds of significance: Cultural institutions collect everything that is relevant for their culture, Wikiprojects are more global. WikiProjects do not want to substitute the cultural institutions.

Discussion

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  • Q: Is it senseful to fix a minimum resolution for pictures?
  • A: There are average numbers but it's nobody's job to set up rules for someone's engagement.
  • Some case studies can be added by experienced Wikimedians, who are telling their story
  • We realized that GLAM-partnerships cannot always be multimedia-projects but also intellectual exchange.
  • Q: Problems of culture institutions e. g. in South Africa...
  • A: That's a very difficult point: Cultural heritage: Direct research, have direct talks (project in Madagascar), put the results on meta and use it as a source this way.
  • Q: Would people like Liam come to local chapters which have some individual difficulties come over to help them`?
  • A: Of course, sometimes this is be best solution for all problems; sometimes it is not useful but more contra-productive
  • Wikimedia Italy has a Wiki-Africa program and cooperates with the WMF, is going to start a project in 2012 in which also oral research is included.
  • Nearly every chapter needs help in GLAM, so the Ambassador should be helpful also for big chapters.
    • The first ambassador could approve for Barcelona. The goal is, that in every region/city an ambassador approves – the ambassadors have different kinds of tasks: Support the community or support the chapter.
  • Q: Do you think that GLAM is going to influence the Wikipedia-communities?
  • A: A group like this cannot change the Wikipedia and will not have a higher influence than every other individual group.
  • Museums/archives, which try to find a new role in sharing and giving historical material...
    • They could be a bit scared and we shouldn't undermine them, but they respect their new role and we have do respect the expertise of the museums and archives.
    • These are old institutions, processes work slowly and we won't change that - it is a confrontation of cultures.
  • A minority of chapters already has or plans to have experience
    • Kenya: Wants to earn pictures and a lot of other materials as a photo-competition inside a museum: We leave the
  • Chapters can help to understand the technical points (rights, etc.) but they cannot change cultural common opinion.
  • The value of cultural heritage and of real museums (in contrast to digital museums) increases.
  • There is material we maybe better not publish under a free licence (e. g. material from the museum of Auschwitz)
  • The GLAM-projects is not going to substitute any other old processes in intercultural contextes!