GLAM/Newsletter/December 2012/Contents/USA report
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GLAM-Wiki presence at Museum Computer Network
GLAM-Wiki presence at Museum Computer Network
In early November a group of GLAM-Wikimedians took part in the Museum Computer Network (MCN) annual conference in Seattle, Washington. For the past three years, the MCN community has welcomed GLAM-Wiki with open arms—and this conference was no different. What made this year special was the solidification of interest in establishing a formal "open GLAM" community within the US.
Outreach opportunities included:
Bridging the Gap: Mediawiki and GLAM Professionals brought together GLAM professionals and Wikimedians in a day-long workshop to share tools and process that will help museum technologists to take the initiative in interfacing with Wikimedia projects. Wikimedia VP Erik Moeller led the discussion, which included a description of Wikimedia tools and upcoming features that can be adapted for museum projects. The workshop had small but enthusiastic attendance, with representatives from the Met, the Art Genome Project, Royal Museums Greenwich, the Georgia O'Keefe Museum, and the Ford Presidential Library.
A full conference session focused on Wikimedia projects and included talks from Gaurav Vaidya on Wikisource, Sarah Stierch on Women in GLAM, and Lori Phillips on Next Steps in GLAM-Wiki Collaboration.
Slack Day included the Hackin' Shack and a fifteen minute tutorial on Conflict of Interest in Wikipedia, led by Dominic McDevitt-Parks and Lori Phillips.
Ignite:MCN took place during the opening reception at the EMP Museum, with all conference participants in attendance. The talks included Lori Phillips speaking on Open Authority in museums, with Wikipedia as a core example of "Embracing the Bazaar." Ultimately, Open Authority was cited as a theme of the conference, and a break-out session in the closing plenary discussed the topic at length. The result of the breakout session was a clearly articulated request for a centralized Open GLAM group in the United States—with Wikipedians being pointed to as the current leaders in existing Open GLAM efforts.
