GLAM/Newsletter/August 2018/Contents/Portugal report
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GLAMifying the National Library of Portugal
ByLast year Wikimedia Portugal was contacted by the National Library of Portugal (BNP) to start a GLAM project with us. In February we've made a first event at the Library, a full-day series of workshops with the librarians covering Wikimedia projects integration, Wikidata & Commons in the context of a GLAM project and Wikipedia article editing and creation.
Since then we've been closely working with the BNP staff on the Unimarc/Wikidata mapping correlation, script development to import the data from their online open data service into Wikidata, testing all routines and spreadsheet generation for Pattypan. The objective is to develop an integrated tool that would provide maximum automatization, releasing the much valuable human workforce for content curatorship and content use in the projects.
We've just started uploading the first batch of data, and over the next months we plan on start steadily uploading about a million records and public domain images into Wikidata and Commons. The first content being imported is the BNP painting collection, including the library directors gallery, and valuable religious paintings from the 1834 extinguished monasteries which are part of the institution inventories since 1854. Next batches will include cartography, going back to the 15th century, public domain books and monographies. We also plan to import all the author's database into Wikidata, as well as other available correlated databases.
Integrating BNP staff into the Wikimedia projects is also one of our goals - which shouldn't be hard, considering all enthusiasm they've been showing while working with us. Over the lifetime of the project, we expect they would be developing a huge set of skills which would allow them to work on their own, and level up the project. We also plan to use this GLAM to practise and improve the Wikidata & Commons skills of the Portuguese Wikimedian community.