An Introduction to Wikipedia and Cataloguing Issues [email_address]

and Cataloguing Issues

[email_address]

The Glasgow Digital Library and Wikipedia In 2003, the CDLR established 'The Maxton Papers’ as part of the Glasgow Digital Library. Alan Dawson and Jane Barton decided to monitor how highly ‘The Maxton Papers’ were ranked on Google.

In 2003, the CDLR established

'The Maxton Papers’ as part of the

Glasgow Digital Library.

Alan Dawson and Jane Barton decided

to monitor how highly ‘The Maxton

Papers’ were ranked on Google.

A Usurper! For several months, they were in 1 st position Spartacus’ page on Maxton pushed them down into 2 nd position Pushed into 3 rd by Wikipedia

For several months, they were in 1 st

position

Spartacus’ page on Maxton pushed

them down into 2 nd position

Pushed into 3 rd by Wikipedia

Wikipedia was clearly important...

Potential Benefits Increased interest in information retrieval Participatory relationship between users/producers Increase visibility of your collection Ensure users provided with accurate information Encourage drive toward standardisation Engage with local/global communities Mutually beneficial arrangement

Increased interest in information retrieval

Participatory relationship between

users/producers

Increase visibility of your collection

Ensure users provided with accurate information

Encourage drive toward standardisation

Engage with local/global communities

Mutually beneficial arrangement

A Call for Participation “ We do not believe that any resource tool can be reliable without scholarly input; this is why we so warmly welcome and invite the contributions of experts. It is a longstanding mistake to think of Wikipedia as being anti-elitist. Virtually every top Wikipedian I know is an elitist of the best sort: We love people who know what they are talking about.” - Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia

“ We do not believe that any resource tool can be reliable

without scholarly input; this is why we so warmly

welcome and invite the contributions of experts. It is a

longstanding mistake to think of Wikipedia as being

anti-elitist. Virtually every top Wikipedian I know is an

elitist of the best sort:

We love people who know what they are talking about.”

- Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia

PAC 2.0! Users’ experience of information seeking and retrieval is changing… Wikipedia creates a hypertext/browsing model of searching The model may be different but… Underlying purposes and goals are the same as traditional catalogues

Users’ experience of information seeking

and retrieval is changing…

Wikipedia creates a hypertext/browsing model

of searching

The model may be different but…

Underlying purposes and goals are the same as

traditional catalogues

Entry points to knowledge Wikipedia is a good starting point for information seeking I believe it may actually CREATE a potential user group for libraries There is lots of overlap between Library and Web 2.0 philosophies Provided that libraries engage with/understand the phenomenon, they can benefit from it

Wikipedia is a good starting point for information

seeking

I believe it may actually CREATE a potential

user group for libraries

There is lots of overlap between Library and

Web 2.0 philosophies

Provided that libraries engage with/understand

the phenomenon, they can benefit from it

Complementary Philosophies? http://search.wikia.com/wiki/Search_Wikia Wikia’s Four Organizing Principles (TCQP) – state that the future of Internet Search must be based on: Transparency - Openness in how the systems operate Community - Everyone is able to contribute in some way Quality - Significantly improve the relevancy and accuracy of search results Privacy - Must be protected

Wikia’s Four Organizing Principles (TCQP) – state that

the future of Internet Search must be based on:

Transparency - Openness in how the systems operate

Community - Everyone is able to contribute in

some way

Quality - Significantly improve the relevancy and

accuracy of search results

Privacy - Must be protected

Some Familiar Categorisations Overviews of Wikipedia Featured content Lists Including - Topics and Basic Topics Glossaries Categorical Indices Alphabetical Indices And some Innovative ones… Portals Timelines

Overviews of Wikipedia

Featured content

Lists

Including - Topics and Basic Topics

Glossaries

Categorical Indices

Alphabetical Indices

And some Innovative ones…

Portals

Timelines

A Nod to traditional schemes Wikipedia's other broad categorical indices are: List of Dewey Decimal classes — lists the top two classes of each subject Library of Congress Classification Outline of Roget's Thesaurus — articles organised into a system based on six classes, with thousands of branches, following Roget's system

Wikipedia's other broad categorical indices are:

List of Dewey Decimal classes — lists the top

two classes of each subject

Library of Congress Classification

Outline of Roget's Thesaurus — articles organised

into a system based on six classes, with thousands

of branches, following Roget's system

A Wikipedian explains: “ From 2003, it became clear that listing articles in a topic area was an important activity, and I did a lot of that for mathematics. When categories appeared, they seemed like lists, but with different, overlapping functionality. So WP moved to lists+categories. Of course you could have a list of any kind. Some lists get removed as frivolous and not helpful. But in general both lists and categories have a navigational role. Any particular addition of a category is fallible.” - Charles R. Matthews, Editor, Wikipedia

“ From 2003, it became clear that listing articles in a topic area was an important activity, and I did a lot of that for mathematics. When categories appeared, they seemed like lists, but with different, overlapping functionality. So WP moved to lists+categories.

Of course you could have a list of any kind. Some lists get removed as frivolous and not helpful. But in general both lists and categories have a navigational role.

Any particular addition of a category is fallible.”

- Charles R. Matthews, Editor, Wikipedia

Entry points for Libraries Entry points into the subject of Libraries/Librarians on Wikipedia: Library and Information Science Portal: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Library_and_information_science This portal is a ‘featured portal’ meaning it is “regarded as being particularly useful, attractive, and well-maintained.” Topic list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_basic_library_and_information_science_topics Project to introduce Librarians to Wikipedia and the world of Wikipedians, and vice versa! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Librarians

Entry points into the subject of Libraries/Librarians on Wikipedia:

Library and Information Science Portal:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Library_and_information_science

This portal is a ‘featured portal’ meaning it is “regarded as

being particularly useful, attractive, and well-maintained.”

Topic list:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_basic_library_and_information_science_topics

Project to introduce Librarians to Wikipedia and

the world of Wikipedians, and vice versa!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Librarians

Exposing your collection! Create an entry for your organisation on Wikipedia, as the California Digital Library and Bodleian Library have done Allow users to find your collection by creating external links on relevant pages for example: Create a link to Maxton Papers on I.L.P article Becoming involved in improving and updating the Library and Information Science portal: LIS Portal

Create an entry for your organisation on Wikipedia, as the

California Digital Library and Bodleian Library have done

Allow users to find your collection by creating external links

on relevant pages for example:

Create a link to Maxton Papers on I.L.P article

Becoming involved in improving and updating the Library

and Information Science portal: LIS Portal

Forthcoming Book ‘ How Wikipedia Works ’ by Matthews et al. Publication date: May/June 2008 No Starch Press Ltd. By Charles R. Matthews and Phoebe Ayers, both Librarians, who sit on Wikipedia’s Arbitration Board. ISBN 10: 1-59327-176-X ISBN 13:9781593271763

‘ How Wikipedia Works ’ by Matthews et al.

Publication date: May/June 2008

No Starch Press Ltd.

By Charles R. Matthews and Phoebe Ayers,

both Librarians, who sit on Wikipedia’s

Arbitration Board.

ISBN 10: 1-59327-176-X

ISBN 13:9781593271763

For the really pro-active… Use the free Wikimedia software to create a Wiki for your own collection, independent of the main Wikipedia site Get involved in the WikiLibrary Project run by Michael Sauers and others Add learning materials on Cataloguing to Wikiversity to encourage awareness of the profession Upload some text/images to Wikipedia Commons

Use the free Wikimedia software to create

a Wiki for your own collection, independent

of the main Wikipedia site

Get involved in the WikiLibrary Project

run by Michael Sauers and others

Add learning materials on Cataloguing to

Wikiversity to encourage awareness of the

profession

Upload some text/images to Wikipedia Commons

No way to ignore it… Even if you do not wish to become an active proponent of Wikipedia, it is still a good idea to check from time to time, that links to your site, mentions of your institution or images/text taken from your collection and added to Wikipedia comply with copyright regulations.

Even if you do not wish to become an active

proponent of Wikipedia, it is still a good

idea to check from time to time, that links to

your site, mentions of your institution

or images/text taken from your collection

and added to Wikipedia comply with

copyright regulations.