GLAM/Model projects/Library Edit-a-thons

Contributors at work during the British Library editathon in June 2011.

Fæ was an attendee of the January 2011 and the organizer of June 2011 British Library editathons. These are his tips on running one:

Rules of thumb for running an editathon

1. Give yourself an 8 week time-frame for planning from the first serious discussion about the event. Though you can do things more quickly, this longer period will give time for any notices in related internet forums, discussion groups, people's blogs and even the local press to react, share information and encourage public engagement with your event.
2. Think carefully with the host organization as to who you would like to attract to the event and if there are any associated issues. For example the BL was not ideal for under 18s as getting a readers card is problematic. It may also be that you would prefer to attract high contribution editors rather than new Wikipedians (or vice-versa). With your target "market" clear then you can choose how and where to publicise the event.
3. Plan the hook for the day and let this lead your publicity. A general editathon may not be as attractive as an editathon plus an interesting presentation from a well known speaker or an editathon plus a behind-the-scenes tour or maybe not being an editathon but a "wiki-lounge" where parallel sessions might help workshop out interesting topics and help keen new contributors.
4. Consider whether your focus is on Wikipedia or if a focus on Wikimedia Commons or Wikinews or other major Wikimedia project might be more appropriate for an alternative interesting event. For example an event that attracts amateur photographers to share photos to illustrate related articles might do more to increase quality on Wikipedia that a pure Wikipedia article focussed event.
5. Think big. If you are talking to one organization, could this be part of a planned programme of events supported by a national association of museums or librarians and publicised by that association?
6. Avoid creating high expectation for the outcomes. It is hard to guarantee what articles will be created or improved or to what extent the public will be interested in attending, so stay flexible on the detailed content and let the attendees surprise you with their varied interests.

Other suggestions

User:Mike Peel organised the January 2011 editathon at the British Library. Here are some of his suggestions:

• Make sure you have Wikimedians and curators arriving at the same time of day; curators will likely work 9-5, whereas Wikimedians generally start their days a little later. Have a fall-back plan in case one or the other group doesn't appear quite on time.
• Prepare the curators in advance with a background presentation on Wikimedia, so that they know what to expect during the day (or do this right at the start of the event).
• Have a list of topics that might be worked on during the event (but don't expect to work on all of them, and expect new topics to arise throughout the day)
• Engage with local interest groups and include teaching them how to edit Wikipedia during the event; this then helps grow the Wikimedia community with interested researchers with available spare time (bear in mind that curators are often very busy and overworked!).
• Set out the ground rules and access restrictions of the event well in advance. Can participants take photos? Can they access reference materials? If so, can they scan or photocopy those reference materials?
• Combine the editathon with an event - e.g. a tour of the library, of an exhibition, etc. - to help draw in attendees.
• Include an informal activity as part of the event; e.g. talking in a pub or cafe at the end of the day. This helps both sides gain understanding of the other side, and helps foster longer-term partnerships.