@WikimediaDC
Smithsonian Institution Staff Wikipedia Editing Workshop
Join us for a remote Wikipedia editing workshop and learn how to improve and create Wikipedia articles using Smithsonian collections and publications in addition to external materials.
Attendees will be encouraged to continue editing during the ongoing period of social distancing. Please create a Wikipedia username prior to joining the session.
This event will be streamed via Zoom. A password protected link will be shared via email with all registrants.
When
- Tuesday, June 16, 2020 10am-12pm EDT
Where
- Remote
Register
- Participation by invitation only.
Safe Space Policy
editPlease sign in
edit- This is for use on the day of the event.
- 1) Select 'Sign in'
- 2) Scroll down on the page that follows and click 'Publish changes' or 'Save changes'.
- Your username will automatically be added to the list of attendees.
Presentation
editSuggested tasks for editing
edit- Expand a stub article by adding a reference or brief information
- Clean-up an article listed in a Wikiproject that interests you. A list of topics which need clean-up of various kinds, such as fixing grammar or dead links, is at https://bambots.brucemyers.com/cwb/index.html
- Add missing citations using citation hunt
- Add images from Wikimedia Commons to relevant articles
- Add categories to Wikipedia articles or to images in Wikimedia Commons
- Add alternative text captions to images in Wikipedia to make them more accessible for persons using screen readers; instructions are at Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Accessibility/Alternative_text_for_images
- Create or enlarge an article on English Wikipedia by translating information on the topic from one of the foreign language Wikipedias (or vice versa); for instance the article on the U.S. National Tick Collection could be expanded with information and images from the German version [1]
Suggested topics and resources for editing
edit- Create or improve an article about a notable Smithsonian artifact, exhibition, or person associated with SI (but be careful to avoid the impression of conflict of interest if you work on the Smithsonian Libraries, the Smithsonian Institution Archives or one of the SI museums
Examples of types of articles you could create or edit:
- Exhibitions; see the one for Bottled Ocean as a model; information that could be provided includes title, dates, location (museum and geographic, also whether the exhibition travelled), featured artists and/or artifacts or artworks, curatorial intent and team, news articles about the exhibition, and information on its influence or legacy
- Paintings; see the one for The Princess from the Land of Porcelain or DC Waterfront, Maine Avenue; you could include information on the title, artist, movement associated with the artist, description, provenance history, history of being on exhibition, interpretation, etc.
- Books; see the one for History of the Indian Tribes of North America; you could include information on the author(s), illustrator(s), publication history, book reviews, etc.
Some information sources related to the Smithsonian
editWikidata
editWikimedia Commons
editYou can add captions, categories, structured data, and/or improve descriptions for items in Wikimedia Commons, where image, video and audio files are stored. You can also add images to relevant Wikipedia pages, or upload CC0 images from the Smithsonian Open Access portal.
Wikimedia
edit- Wikimedia movement
- Wikipedia, a web-based encyclopedia
- Wikimedia Commons, a data repository of media (images, videos and sounds). (See * Wikiproject Wikimedia Commons:GLAM Wikiproject)
- Wikidata, a common source of data, also accessible by the other projects
- Wiktionary, a dictionary
- Wikibooks, educational textbooks
- Wikinews, news articles
- Wikiquote, a collection of quotations
- Wikisource, a library of source texts and documents
- Wikiversity, educational material
- Wikivoyage, a travel guide
- Wikispecies, a taxonomic catalogue of species
- Wikipedia:The_Wikipedia_Library/OA the Wikipedia Library guide to open access materials
Wikipedia Policies
edit- Wikipedia:Username policy
- Wikipedia:Five pillars
- Wikipedia:Core content policies
- Wikipedia:General notability guideline
- Wikipedia:Verifiability
- Wikipedia:Conflict of interest
- Wikipedia:Identifying reliable sources
- Wikipedia:No original research (Examples of Original Research)
- Wikipedia:Citing sources
- Wikipedia:Identifying and using primary sources
Sample Conflict of Interest Statement
editAbout Me
- I am a paid employee of the Smithsonian Institution. We are working to make our resources more accessible to the public by working directly with Wikipedia.
Conflict of interest statement
- I am editing Wikipedia as part of my official duties at the Smithsonian Institution. I will abide by Wikipedia's accepted practices on conflicts of interest, neutrality, and notability. Because the educational mission of the Smithsonian Institution is in line with Wikipedia's mission to disseminate knowledge freely, I will not make edits that I do not believe are in accordance with Wikipedia's practices and procedures. The Smithsonian Institution's official work on Wikipedia is being governed by internal guidelines. If you believe I have made an error or violated Wikipedia’s norms, please let me know.
Wikimedia Affiliates
edit- Chapters
- Wikimedia chapters are independent organizations founded to support and promote the Wikimedia projects in a specified geographical region (in most cases, a country). Like the Wikimedia Foundation, they aim to "empower and engage people around the world to collect and develop educational content under a free license or in the public domain, and to disseminate it effectively and globally". There are currently 39 chapters, with at least one on every inhabited continent., i.e. Wikimedia DC
- Chapters
- Wikimedia thematic organizations
- Thematic organizations are incorporated independent non-profits representing the Wikimedia movement and supporting work focused on a specific theme, topic, subject or issue within or across countries and regions. i.e., Wikimedia Medicine.
- Wikimedia thematic organizations
- User groups
- Wikimedia user groups are intended to be simple and flexible affiliates that are an alternative to chapters and thematic organizations - which require more formal requirements. User groups are highly valued as equal players in the Wikimedia movement, i.e., Art+Feminism
- User groups
WikiProjects
edit- Search all WikiProjects
Quick Editing Tips
editTools, Resources
editFor Wikimedia DC Use
editArticle work list
editAbout the Quality Scale