GLAM/Newsletter/January 2014/Contents/USA report
|
GLAM-Wiki activities in the USA
WikiConference USA 2014 in the Works
On January 28, Wikimedia NYC and Wikimedia D.C. WMF chapters announced that they were working in collaboration to host the first national Wikimedia conference in the United States. The conference will take place at New York Law School from May 30 – June 1 and will offer panels, workshops, seminars and other presentations on topics related to Wikipedia or free culture: Community, Advocacy and Outreach, Technology and Infrastructure, GLAM, and Education. Travel and board scholarships will be given to a limited number of applicants. See the website for more information.
International Art+Feminism Events Take Wikipedia's Gender Gap by Storm
February 1st was a remarkable day for GLAM-Wiki, with one of the largest virtual edit-a-thons taking place in over 30 locations around the world, including Australia, Canada, Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States. The Art+Feminism edit-a-thons, meant to combat Wikipedia's gender gap and improve coverage of notable women in history and art, were organized by a team of curators, librarians and Wikipedians: Jacqueline Mabey, Michael Mandiberg, Laurel Ptak, Sian Evans, Zoe Salditch, Richard Knipel and Dorothy Howard of Wikimedia NYC. The events were covered in such publications including ARTnews, Bitch Magazine, The Daily Beast, LA Weekly, The Portland Mercury, and more.
The complete outcomes of all satellite events are being aggregated on follow-up pages:
- Wikipedia:ArtAndFeminism/FAQ – includes a description of the campaign, future plans, a list of all of associated events, and press coverage
- Wikipedia:ArtAndFeminism/Outcomes – includes summaries and results from each event
-
New York City -
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania -
Portland, Oregon -
San Francisco -
Amsterdam
Józef Pilsudski Institute of America Starts Project
The Józef Pilsudski Institute of America, a Polish cultural heritage center located in the Lower East Side, Manhattan, started a GLAM-wiki page and project for their institution and hopes to add articles related to their archival materials and the history of their collections. The Institute will also be looking for part time remote and local volunteers who would like to contribute.
The Pilsudski Institute has a large number of resources related to modern Polish history, sources concerning outstanding historical figures and important events, soldiers fighting in WW I and WW II, and Polish emigre organizers and institutions. Such topics need to be much better represented in the Wikipedia, both the Polish and English language versions. There are also other tasks and improvements to be made, see the Wikiproject page: Wikipedia:GLAM/Józef Piłsudski Institute of America#Tasks.
Wikimedia New England Launches User Group
The Wikimedia New England became official in December 2013, and is in its first months of official organizing and incorporation. The group, led by co-organizers Kevin Rutherford and Maia Weinstock, will meet prominently in the Boston area and host edit-a-thons, Wiki Loves Monuments campaigns, and more. On Saturday, January 18, members of the group met at the MIT Media Lab in Cambridge, MA, joined by supporting members of Wikimedia NYC and Wikimedia D.C. to discuss to future plans of the chapter. The group's activities will be documented Meta-Wiki: meta:New England Wikimedians.
Events in Philadelphia
Sara MacDonald (organizer) and Mary Mark Ockerbloom (coach) led an ArtAndFeminism satellite event at the University of the Arts (UArts) in Philadelphia. Participants were invited to continue editing at the next GLAM Café, at the Chemical Heritage Foundation in Philadelphia, on February 11, 2014, 5-8 p.m. The GLAM Café is organized as a meetup group, the second Tuesday of each month. This will be the fourth GLAM Café: 10 brave souls braved a snow storm in December, 20 attended in January. Anyone interested in the areas of GLAM, digital humanities or Wikipedia is welcome.
