GLAM/Newsletter/July 2012/Contents/UK report
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British Library update; UK representation at Wikimania 2012; brief news
British Library
Andrew Gray, the Wikipedian in Residence at the British Library, has just completed his third month.
One of the core goals of the program is to train specialists and academics in how to contribute to Wikipedia. Since the first workshop in mid-June, 46 British Library staff have attended practical training workshops. With the help of volunteers, there have also been workshops to train nine staff from the National Archives and 25 academics from the University of London and the Shakespeare Institute in Stratford-upon-Avon. Several more workshops are being prepared, including a series of public sessions for British Library readers in London.
Alongside these practical workshops, a number of curators have expressed an interest in collaborating with Wikipedians on specific topics - see Wikipedia:GLAM/BL/One on one collaborations. Some of these relate to BL content or collections, while others are broader topics. From the content side, a series of uploads of freely licensed images are being prepared, and the first of these should hopefully be ready by the end of August.
Lastly, a series of events through the autumn are being organised. These will include a tour of the Writing Britain exhibition (dates TBC) and a three-day editing workshop in late October with the International Dunhuang Project, focusing on Central Asia and its archaeology. To register interest for the Dunhuang event, please sign up here.
Wikimania 2012
A number of UK GLAM collaborators attended Wikimania 2012 in Washington DC, USA and several made presentations or spoke on panels. These included:
- Andy Mabbett was asked to do a lightening talk on QRpedia as part of "Wikipedia Loves Libraries".
- Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing) facilitated a GLAM session, when the expected facilitator did not arrive.
- John Cummings (Mrjohncummings) gave a talk, "MonmouthpediA - A Grand Project"
- Fæ sat on the panel for A National GLAM Coordinator – a crucial yet overlooked role"
- "QRpedia and You" - a presentation by Wikimedia UK's Andy Mabbett & John Cummings, and Lori Phillips (HstryQT/LoriLee) of the USA, assisted by Rock drum. Attendee Rachel Kassman said on Twitter
"this qrpedia session has, thus far, been the least schizophrenic and most concretely useful bit of #wikimania"
Prior to Wikimania, Andy Mabbett met with staff at Washington Zoo to discuss the implementation of QRpedia there. He then gave a presentation to staff at the National Art Gallery, plus guests from neighbouring organisations, including the Smithsonian Institute, also about QRpedia. One of those present subsequently wrote that it was "possibly the best presentation I’ve heard in that room (of two hundred, probably)."
News in brief
- Wikipedia Takes Coventry: Registration (which is free) has opened for Wikipedia Takes Coventry. On September 1, Wikimedia UK and Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry will jointly host the UK's first city-wide Wiki Takes... event. The event is open to amateur photographers of all ages and abilities, regardless of previous experience with Wikimedia projects.
- British Museum Shakespeare exhibition tour: Tour of the "Shakespeare: Staging the World" exhibition at the British Museum on September 13th, followed by a meeting with a curator.
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