GLAM/Newsletter/November 2023/Contents/Albania report

This Month in GLAM – Volume XIII, Issue XI, November 2023

Albania report

Three-months of Wikimedian in Residence at the Qemal Baholli Public Library in Albania

Wikimedian in Residence in Elbasan, Albania

Over 3 months Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group worked closely with the Wikimedian in Residence placed at the Qemal Baholli Public Library in Elbasan, Albania, From August to October 2023, this project had an impact in contributing to Wikimedia platforms, increasing community engagement, and empowering people within the library, including the library readers and workers.

Wikipedia article creation

When we first started developing this project, our User Group and the Wikimedian in Residence focused on enhancing the representation of culture, museum, history, and knowledge about Elbasan. The Wikimedian in Residence created a variety of new articles, that included diverse subjects, improved the library’s article on Wikipedia, enriched the online knowledge about important books produced by the library’s directors through years within the institution.

Multimedia enrichment on Commons One of the central goals during this project was to upload pictures from the public library to represent the books that are written by librarians and focus on books that are found specifically in it. Our Wikimedian in Residence worked on adding photographs on Commons, giving exactly the insights into Elbasan area culture and heritage. The images help the community understand the values and history of this area.

Enriching Wikidata

The project extended its reach on Wikidata as well, adding items and pictures that connect to articles on Wikipedia.

Having a conversation with our Wikimedian in Residence, she came to the conclusion that she feels proud of the impact she made in this 3-month journey being a mediator between the Public Library and Wikimedia platforms. She says that this project has increased the representation of Elbasan knowledge online but has also strengthened the ties within the community. The Wikimedian in Residence feels very committed to becoming a space of learning and sharing on Wikipedia and other projects.

Statistics from our Wikimedian in Residence over the past 3 months.

41 articles created on Wikipedia
120 articles edited on Wikipedia
36 uploads on Commons
297 total revisions on Wikidata

Here are some of the uploads from our Wikimedian in Residence, Beneta Dhima, based in the Qemal Baholli Public Library, Elbasan, Albania. More will follow after we get the permission that we need to publish all the images.