Tag Archives: wikipedia

Communication, Tech, Writing

Monika Sengul-Jones is a Wikipedian-in-Residence, making libraries and the online encyclopedia ‘better together’

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(From GeekWire, by

“Monika Sengul-Jones is, more or less, she says, “a professional thinker.”

With a background in social theory and a focus on gender and technology, Sengul-Jones said she is concerned with “questions of access and representation” and “how that gets tangled up in objects — mostly digital, but not always.”

This year she joined the Seattle office of the Online Computer Library Center as the Wikipedian-in-Residence, part of the nonprofit’s Wikipedia + Libraries: Better Together project, aimed at strengthening the ties between U.S. public libraries and the free online encyclopedia.

Sengul-Jones is also GeekWire’s newest Geek of the Week.

“I care about the daily lives of people and how they make sense of their worlds,” Sengul-Jones said. “This informs my approach to gender and technology. More generally, I like to read, think, and to make things — be they projects or metaphorical bridges or new arrangements.”

In addition to her work with OCLC, Sengul-Jones is finishing her doctorate in Communication at UC San Diego.

Learn more about this week’s Geek of the Week, Monika Sengul-Jones: Continue reading Monika Sengul-Jones is a Wikipedian-in-Residence, making libraries and the online encyclopedia ‘better together’ →

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Librarians unite to edit Wikipedia

Wikipedia LibraryImagine a World where Every Librarian Added One More Reference to Wikipedia.

Whether we admit it or not, most people start their research with Wikipedia. It serves its purpose: to give a general idea of a topic and sometimes where to find more research. Some have criticized Wikipedia and its crowd-sourced, un-referenced content, but what if we were part of a solution to fix this? Enter in #1Lib1Ref, a campaign organized by a few people at ACRL Tech Connect to get librarians to add at least one reference to Wikipedia. Check out the whole how-to on their Wikipedia page.

How can you get involved with #1Lib1Ref? Start by “citation chasing,” finding an article that is in need of citation. You can use this tool to aid in your search. Next, add a citation to a reliable source to benefit Wikipedia readers worldwide. Finally, make sure that when you add the reference to the article, you include the hashtag #1Lib1Ref in the edit summary so that the organizers can track participation.

Read more stories about #1Lib1Ref. Know that next time you are looking for something to do, instead of watching a reality show, add a reference to Wikipedia!

Academic, General

Wikipedia for research instruction

Pencil tips“DON’T USE WIKIPEDIA IN YOUR PAPER!” We’ve all preached this to our students, parents, relatives, and anyone else who will listen. Especially when writing research papers and scholarly works. But what about using Wikipedia, to teach those very same skills?

Char Booth, librarian at the Claremont Colleges Library, did just that. She worked with colleagues, and faculty, to develop course work that had students creating content on Wikipedia. On her blog, Booth says, “The articles… were painstakingly crafted through multiple rounds of feedback in the most intensive and effective information literacy assignment I have ever had a hand in designing.” By writing Wikipedia articles themselves, students had to fight (or write) against those very same reasons we all use for NOT using Wikipedia. Booth continues: “The power of this process is the mind-bending leaps students must master to do it well, including “neutral” and non-argumentative writing, rigorous and impartial substantiation, coding, OA sourcing where and whenever possible, and group content creation.”

For more on the program, view the course page, or an article about it from the L.A. Times.

Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/lrnsr9j, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

SCSU Librarian Hosts Wikipedia Edit-A-Thon

Rachel
Rachel Wexelbaum, diligently editing Wikipedia

We know book clubs, knitting and quilting circles are popular during the winter months, but what about getting together to edit Wikipedia? Rachel Wexelbaum, St. Cloud State University librarian, got involved in this first time ever event in the university library on Saturday, February 1, 2014. Attendees included SCSU professors, librarians, and students too!

Read all about the event in a St. Cloud Times article.

Are you interested in knowing how Rachel organized this event, and how you might do the same?  You can email her to get insights about logistics and lessons learned at rswexelbaum@stcloudstate.edu. Nicely done Rachel!

CMLE staff are always looking for library/school media  news items in Central Minnesota. Be sure to submit your stories to cmle@stcloudstate.edu and remember, no story is too small. Your peers just like to peek into your library world!  Keep on making the news!