GLAM/Newsletter/November 2024/Contents/Poland report

This Month in GLAM – Volume XIV, Issue XI, November 2024

Poland report

What's up in GLAM-Wiki in Poland

Workshop: Empowering Wiki Residencies in GLAM

Kamila Neuman led the workshop "Empowering Wiki Residencies in GLAM: Scaling and Enhancing GLAM-Wiki Partnerships by Expanding and Strengthening the WiR Position" during the 11th European GLAM-Wiki Coordinators Meet-up, which took place on November 5, 2024. The event brought together coordinators from across Europe to exchange experiences and ideas for advancing GLAM-Wiki collaborations.

The workshop aimed to explore ways to scale GLAM-Wiki partnerships by strengthening the role of Wikipedians in Residence (WiR). Participants worked in groups to analyze barriers and opportunities for expanding WiR programs and brainstorm strategies for engaging Wikipedians in Residence. Discussions centered on how WiR programs can support more effective and sustainable collaborations with GLAM institutions while increasing the number of active residents.

Although the limited time of the workshop prevented concrete solutions from being developed, it facilitated meaningful discussions and enhanced knowledge sharing. Participants openly exchanged experiences, sharing both successes and challenges, and reflected on future initiatives.

The workshop underscored the potential of such meet-ups as platforms for building collective strategies and mutual support within the GLAM-Wiki community.

First In-Person Meeting of Wikipedians in Residence, November 14–15, 2024

On November 14–15, 2024, a meeting of Wikipedians in Residence took place at the Wikimedia Polska office in Warsaw. The event was attended by Wojciech Szczęsny – Wikipedian in Residence at the National Library in Warsaw, Grzegorz Gogacz – Wikipedian in Residence at the Warsaw Public Library – Central Library of the Masovian Voivodeship, and Agata Stadnicka – Wikipedian in Residence at the Czartoryski Library of the National Museum in Krakow. Representing Wikimedia Polska were Kamila Neuman, Open Culture Manager, and Wioletta Matusiak, Education and Development Manager, who facilitated the meeting. This was the first in-person meeting of the year, providing an opportunity to discuss ongoing activities, exchange experiences, and strengthen collaboration.

Until now, Wikipedians in Residence have only met online – a total of ten virtual meetings have been held. This in-person gathering allowed participants to get to know each other better, gain a deeper understanding of their work, and discuss future initiatives together. These were two very intensive days, during which we also had the chance to learn about Wojciech Szczęsny's workflow. Wojciech presented tools he developed to optimize and accelerate editing activities within Wikimedia projects, which proved both inspiring and practical for all participants.

During the meeting, there was also time for integration aligned with our common interests – participants visited the Józef Chełmoński exhibition at the National Museum in Warsaw. This was a particularly valuable experience, as in 2025, we plan activities related to exhibitions dedicated to Chełmoński at National Museum in Poznań and Krakow.

The meeting also resulted in a concrete action – by the end of November, we collaboratively prepared and submitted an application for a mobility grant to Italy, with Wikimedia Italy as the project partner. Through this initiative, we aim to learn about the functioning of GLAM-Wiki projects in Italy and visit local GLAM institutions to better understand their collaboration models. This is an example of how in-person meetings can lead to specific initiatives that contribute to the development of our GLAM-Wiki projects.

High-Quality Portraits of Polish Monarchs on Wikipedia: Digital Treasures from POLONA

Dobrawa
Boleslaw I Chrobry
Mieszko I
Jan III Sobieski
Anna Jagiellonka

The Kings and Dukes of Poland by Jan Matejko is one of the most renowned works depicting Polish rulers. Particularly popular are the portraits of monarchs from the Piast dynasty, whose original likenesses have not survived. For many Poles, figures such as Mieszko I or Bolesław Chrobry are almost synonymous with Matejko’s illustrations.

Until recently, the scans of Matejko's drawings used on Wikipedia were of low quality – both in resolution and color fidelity, which often diverged from the original. Wojtek Szczęsny, serving as Wikipedian in Residence at the National Library, undertook efforts to enhance these materials:

He acquired high-quality scans from the first book edition of The Kings and Dukes of Poland from around 1893, available in the Polona digital library.
He enriched the collection with colored versions of the portraits created by Leonard Stroynowski and Zygmunt Papieski, sourced from postcards dating back to the interwar period.

Thanks to Wojtek Szczęsny's efforts:

High-quality scans have replaced the previous images not only on the Polish Wikipedia but also across 86 language versions of Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects.
The portraits of Polish rulers are now used in approximately 2,700 locations on 1,600 pages.
Every month, these 80 scans of monarch portraits receive about 2.7 million views, allowing Wikipedia users worldwide to access faithful reproductions of Polish rulers' portraits.

Lists of Polish kings and dukes, as well as biographies of rulers, are present even in less popular language versions of Wikipedia. This highlights the importance of providing top-quality content that not only promotes Polish culture and history but also enriches global knowledge about our heritage.

Through Wojtek Szczęsny’s dedication, The Kings and Dukes of Poland by Jan Matejko has gained new life in the digital world, reaching millions of viewers around the globe.

Original works by Jan Matejko on Wikimedia Commons: Images from "Królowie i książęta. Rysunki Jana Matejki" (1893)

Colored versions: Kings and Dukes of Poland (color) in the National Library of Poland

Wikimedia Polska Joins the TAROCH Coalition (Towards a Recommendation on Open Cultural Heritage)

Wikimedia Polska has officially joined the global TAROCH coalition (Towards a Recommendation on Open Cultural Heritage), an international initiative aimed at developing UNESCO guidelines for open access to cultural heritage.

The TAROCH coalition seeks to create and adopt a Declaration on Open Access to Cultural Heritage, which will be open for endorsement by civil society organizations and institutions. At the same time, a strategy will be implemented to globally promote the recognition of open access. These efforts will lay the foundation for a comprehensive campaign to establish and adopt an official UNESCO standard on open access to cultural heritage by 2029.

This significant step was initiated and executed by Kamila Neuman, Open Culture Manager at Wikimedia Polska.

Learn more about TAROCH: Click here.

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