GLAM/Newsletter/March 2024/Contents/WMF GLAM report

This Month in GLAM – Volume XIV, Issue III, March 2024

WMF GLAM report

Learn to upload to Commons with OpenRefine and get up to date on the International Museum Day, GLAM CSI, WiLMa Network, and WikiWorkshop

By Giovanna Fontenelle (WMF) & Satdeep Gill (WMF)

New OpenRefine course to edit and upload files to Wikimedia Commons

We are happy to announce the course OpenRefine for Wikimedia Commons: the basics is finally available. By taking this training, you will be able to learn how edit Wikimedia Commons' Structured Data using OpenRefine, as well as how to upload files with the tool.

The course is available on WikiLearn, a learning platform developed by the WMF's Community Development team. This OpenRefine training is available for anyone and it takes around 6 to 8 hours to finish. For those who complete all the exercises, a certificate will be issued. We recommend this course for Wikimedians in Residence and staff from affiliates and GLAMs.

This course was developed as part of the Wikimedia Foundation's training and sustainability grant to OpenRefine. It is currently available in English and can be easily translated into other languages (more about the translation process here and here). The translation for French is already available and the ones for Spanish and Portuguese will be available very soon.

International Museum Day 2024

This year, the Culture and Heritage team is supporting the International Museum Day on the Wikimedia projects together with Wikimedia Switzerland. The celebration happens traditionally on May 18th, but we will have activities planned throughout May, including translation, media, and structured data calls to action.

On May 17, we will have a panel discussion about Wikimedia, Museums, and Education and, during the month, we will also launch videos with interviews about the same topic, as this year's official ICOM theme is Museums for Education and Research.

This celebration occurs all over the world and is organized by ICOM, the International Council of Museums. For the last few years, the Wikimedia campaign has been organized by Switzerland with the involvement of other affiliates. In 2024, the IMD on Wikimedia will become more global, encouraging the participation of other countries and affiliates.

For more information, check the 2024 page, as well as the general page. To get into the mood for the International Museum Day, watch the special video by WMCH about the New Museum Definition:

Museum and Wiki experts talking about the new museum definition

GLAM CSI initiative

Throughout 2024, our team will also support the GLAM CSI – Contributor Study Initiative, a project to assess the contribution pipeline in the Wikimedia technical infrastructure for supporting cultural and heritage partnerships and projects.

The Smithsonian and Andrew Lih are running this initiative, which will examine the ongoing efforts not only from this institution, but from other cultural and heritage partners, to produce real-life user stories from various GLAM-Wiki efforts, with a particular focus on heritage institutions in the United States.

The deliverable will be a report that will document the needs and practices of content partners when participating in Wikimedia-related activities. At the same time, it will also identify opportunities for improvement and prototype possible solutions, particularly with knowledge gaps.

To gather some initial input, we are sharing the GLAM Wiki Contribution Survey. Please, find the time to complete this if you are interested and involved with the researched topic. It should take approximately 15-20 minutes to complete the questions. All responses will be kept confidential and will only be used to inform the GLAM-Wiki CSI's research objectives.

WiLMa Learning Partners Network conclusion

Wikisource Loves Manuscripts (WiLMa) Learning Partners Network concluded in March 2024 after 6 months of trainings and workshops. 12 community members were certified finishing the training and workshops during the cohort, and showing interest to expand the Wikisource Loves Manuscripts project to their language.

More details about WiLMa and the network are available on Meta-Wiki.

WikiWorkshop 2024

We would also like to highlight the Wiki Workshop 2024, co-organized by the Wikimedia Foundation’s Research team and members of the Wikimedia Research community. It will take place on June 20th, from 12:00 to 19:00 UTC, and it will be a space that brings together researchers exploring all aspects of Wikimedia projects.

Timeline: