GLAM/Newsletter/October 2011/Contents/USA report

This Month in GLAM – Volume I, Issue X, October 2011

USA report

Archives of American Art image donation; NARA Backstage Pass; Children's Museum donations

Archives of American Art donates over 250 historical photographs to Wikimedia Commons

As the final project of the 2011 Archives of American Art Wikipedian in Residency with SarahStierch, the Archives donated over 250 high resolution photographs from the Federal Art Project. These images, created by the US federal government, cover the creation process and artworks of artists, including the likes of Stuart Davis, Selma Burke, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, among others. Discover more about the process and the project, including press coverage, here.

Second Backstage Pass at the US National Archives

On October 8, the National Archives at College Park, Maryland hosted its second backstage pass event since August. This time, with Archivist of the United States speaking and free food provided by a small WMF grant, over 30 Wikipedians—including novices and experts—were in attendance. After the morning address from David Ferriero and a presentation from the Wikipedian in Residence, Dominic, attendees were taken on a tour of the building and stacks, and then were able to scan documents (or burn videos) in the research rooms. These scans, being uploaded to Commons, will also be added to the National Archives online catalog by staff. Images and other media from the event can be seen on Commons.

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Scans from the event, from the NASA collection.		Videos of the presentations.

Children's Museum donates images, video, and infographic

During the week of October 24 The Children's Museum of Indianapolis donated their third batch of images as part of an ongoing partnership with Wikimedia which, as of November 2011, is in its fifteenth month. This particular batch of images marked the first instance of new photographs being taken specifically to be uploaded to Commons (in addition to being used for traditional collections management documentation.) The technology department hired professional photographer Michelle Pemberton to take hundreds of images of over 80 objects, a selection of which make up this third batch of high quality images. Objects represent the American Collection, the Cultural World Collection, and the Natural Science Collection, and include everything from an Elton John stage costume, to a Kit Cat Klock, to Mexican alebrijes, to a fossilized shark.

This month the museum also donated its first video to Wikimedia Commons: a visualization of electrolytic reduction on Captain Kidd's cannon. The video was created by Children's Museum creative media staff and is on view in the permanent exhibit National Geographic: Treasures of the Earth alongside the cannon as it is undergoing electrolytic reduction in a working archaeological wet lab. This complements the QRpedia code that is present next to the cannon, which directs visitors to the Captain Kidd's cannon Wikipedia article that was written by teens in the Museum Apprentice Program last year. The video was Media of the Day in mid-October.

Finally, the museum donated a second and more extensive Infographic to Commons which describes Wikipedia, the GLAM-Wiki movement, and the successes of Wikipedians in Residence around the world. It is hoped that this Infographic can be used to further inform Wikimedians and non-Wikimedians about the efforts of the GLAM initiative.

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Briefly

Wikimedia Foundation considering funding a US GLAM Coordinator: As institutional demand outweighs the volunteer availability of Wikimedians in the United States, and lack of Chapter support continues throughout the Midwest and Western half of the United States, WMF is now considering funding a position for a US GLAM Coordinator to oversee GLAM partnerships and programming.
Wikipedia Loves Libraries still seeking participants: Events continue through November 2011 for the first Wikipedia Loves Libraries event. Modeled on the success of the Great American Wiknic and the recent Edit-a-thon with the British Library, WLL will bring Wikipedians and librarians together to serve as a "living reference section," and to build article content related to library holdings. Events are scheduled to take place throughout the United States beyond! Learn how you can participate here.
GLAM Wikipedians to participate in Museum Computer Network 2011 annual conference in Atlanta: GLAM Wikipedians Lori Byrd Phillips (HstryQT), Sarah Stierch (Missvain), and Katie Filbert (Aude) will be participating in this year's MCN conference in Atlanta, Georgia this November. Phillips, Wikipedian-in-Residence at the Children's Museum of Indianapolis, will co-present with Angie McNew, Director of Websites and Emerging Media, a talk entitled "Sharing Resources with a Global Audience: Practical Methods for Collaborating with Wikipedia". Stierch, Wikipedian-in-Residence at the Archives of American Art and recipient of a Wikimedia Foundation grant to attend MCN, will give two talks: "WikiProject:Public Art" and "Wikimedia & Indigenous Peoples: Pros, Cons and Community". Filbert, President of the Wiki Society of DC and recipient of THATcamp award from the Kress Foundation, will present "Collaborative Mapping & Documenting Cultural Places". Learn more about attending MCN here.
Women & Wikimedia 2011 Survey participants - only 9% are active in Wikimedia outreach: Wikimedian Sarah Stierch wrapped up her general survey of female Wikimedians of English Wikipedia. From over 300 participants, 9% stated they are active in outreach (such as GLAM) and when asked about ways to increase female contributors and retention in Wikimedia projects, 30% stated that outreach such as GLAM can boost female participation. Read more about the survey on Meta.