User talk:Megalibrarygirl/Archives/2017/June

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Article about local library system?

Hi! If I wanted to make an article about a local library system (i.e. the main library and all its branches together), how would I go about it? Are there any similar, solidly-notable library system articles that you're aware of, or only individual library articles? How could I go about demonstrating true notability for a library system, not just routine coverage? --122.108.141.214 (talk) 23:59, 19 May 2017 (UTC)

Hi! There are quite a few articles on libraries on Wikipedia and if you're interested in writing about them, I'd check them out. Here's a list of different kinds of libraries:
Notability of the library can be established by media reports on the library or books. Many libraries have a written history about their architecture, founding and important staff in the library collection. You can ask your local library if they have such a thing.
If it's a public library, unless it's huge like New York, I'd put all of the branches together in the article. :) Megalibrarygirl (talk) 18:37, 20 May 2017 (UTC)
Thank you for your kind response. Of those libraries, the NYPL and SPL articles are the closest models for the public library system I have in mind (although the library system has a different name covering all branches, unlike those two examples).
I've only done FUTON research into the library system as of yet because I've been uncertain of article models and how to show notability. I'm aware of recentish local newspaper coverage of branches moving locations and taking part in petitioning for more library funding, which seems pretty normal, but the state library keeps some interesting statistics on its use - which, again, could be argued as just part of state library business. NLA Trove seems to regard library guides as being 'books' authored by the library in question, which is not very helpful for its history or notability. Other resources available are historical training manuals.
Because I'd have to put my draft through AFC, I'm interested in finding out how library system articles are considered notable, which guidelines besides GNG apply so I can make it easy for reviewers, who might consider local newspaper coverage or state library statistics to be of insufficiently high quality or routine (respectively). I don't want to try to post a bad article on Wikipedia, but I am interested in how I can make an acceptable and interesting article on a redlink public library system. I'm sorry to have been unclear in my initial query. --122.108.141.214 (talk) 03:54, 21 May 2017 (UTC)
The sources you found are useful, but they're not going to be the "meat" of the article. The best sources would include coverage about how the library was founded, who founded it, who runs it (is it a government or private entity?), and what kinds of things does the library do. Statistics of service, collection and demographic served are also good. All of these will likely come from different sources and will help add notability to an article. If you'd like, I'm an AfC reviewer (though I don't do it often) and can take a look at your draft when you're ready. :) Megalibrarygirl (talk) 18:17, 22 May 2017 (UTC)
I've begun a draft at Draft:Sutherland Shire Libraries, am I heading in the right direction? --122.108.141.214 (talk) 01:35, 31 May 2017 (UTC)
I think it looks great! I like that you have a good deal of sourcing from newspapers. That helps a lot. It looks like a beautiful library! Are you getting ready to move it out of draft space? Let me know when you feel ready. :) Megalibrarygirl (talk) 18:16, 31 May 2017 (UTC)
I think I'm mostly done - can you think of anything that seems missing? --122.108.141.214 (talk) 04:00, 1 June 2017 (UTC)

Nomination for deletion of Template:Woman's club movement

Template:Woman's club movement has been nominated for deletion. You are invited to comment on the discussion at the template's entry on the Templates for discussion page. Frietjes (talk) 15:13, 1 June 2017 (UTC)

Marcario

Thank you so much for your help and for approving the page! I am so happy to see it live. --2600:1011:B154:4419:1479:5C70:C3B8:23A4 (talk) 21:42, 4 June 2017 (UTC)

You're welcome! Great job & don't get discouraged by how slow things can be on Wiki. I'm always here to help in the future: I'm a librarian, after all. We love doing this stuff. Just drop me a line. :) Megalibrarygirl (talk) 22:47, 4 June 2017 (UTC)

Inter-library loan resource?

Hey! I'm a former student, but I was wondering if maybe there was a resource for researchers to request stuff like PDF's/scans of articles to fulfill references? For example, I'm reading Barry N. Malzberg's Guernica Night right now but much of the citations are from the 1970s. I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask but any input would be beneficial. Thanks!-🐦Do☭torWho42 (📼) 22:09, 31 May 2017 (UTC)

DoctorWho42 Hi! Most public libraries in the United States offer free or cheap Interlibrary Loan services. These can include borrowing the book itself or obtaining scans or photocopies of library materials. My library, for example, charges shipping and for print costs (10 cents a page). I am not certain which other countries have services like Interlibrary loan, however.
Do you need access to databases? I obtain a lot of book reviews through EBSCOhost and sometimes through Project MUSE. I can help you find full-text to many citations through those avenues. I hope this helps. Feel free to let me know if I'm not answering your question properly. ;) Megalibrarygirl (talk) 00:49, 1 June 2017 (UTC)
Megalibrarygirl Huh, this worked better for me than I realized. Turns out the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (local to me) is letting me use their resources despite not being a student and has already processed my requests from last night (Algol, Australian SF News, and 100 Must-Read Science Fiction Novels). Originally, I had a friend from Iowa City as my go-between for much of the citations for Twentieth-Century Science-Fiction Writers but now I won't have to bother her (nor you). :P-🐦Do☭torWho42 (📼) 23:05, 6 June 2017 (UTC)
P.S. ah, well. the jig is up. they found out I wasn't on the student registry but said they'd process my remaining requests as a consolation. in the meantime, I'm open to other means for academic access. I can access EBSCO and requested JSTOR so far.-🐦Do☭torWho42 (📼) 00:06, 7 June 2017 (UTC)
@DoctorWho42: did you ask if your public library has ILL? I'm glad you were able to get the few you already requested! :D Megalibrarygirl (talk) 18:04, 8 June 2017 (UTC)

Wiki Loves Pride 2017

You are invited to create and improve LGBT-related content at Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects throughout the month of June as part of the fourth annual Wiki Loves Pride campaign. Feel free to add new and expanded content on the project's Results page. Happy editing! ---Another Believer (Talk) 14:56, 1 June 2017 (UTC)

Also, totally unrelated, you might have an interest in keeping an eye on March for Truth. ---Another Believer (Talk) 15:18, 1 June 2017 (UTC)
Thanks, Another Believer! I'll add it to my watch list. I've been unable to contribute to anything Wiki recently. It's been a crazy week! >.< Megalibrarygirl (talk) 18:05, 8 June 2017 (UTC)

The Signpost, new Community page

Greetings Megalibrarygirl, Recently I added a new subpage Newsroom Community and thought you might be interest to check it out.

I have had a passing interest in the "WikiProject Desk" there, and had suggested several WP for publication (none of which were started, and are now archived). I see from June 2016, your article about WP Video games. The newest Signpost is now "out there" after several months of being dormant. Wondering if you would be interested in working on another article for the Signpost? Regards, — JoeHebda • (talk) 14:19, 10 June 2017 (UTC)

@JoeHebda:, thanks for the invitation. I'll take a look. :) Megalibrarygirl (talk) 22:32, 10 June 2017 (UTC)

Question about project leader identification

Hi Megalibrarygirl,

I am a PhD student major in computer science from the University of Minnesota. I do research in Wikipedia area about the collaboration among editors mostly in the context of WikiProjects. I have a question to you, and hope you would provide me some suggestion.

Right now, I am planning on a project is about WikiProject recommendation - we will create algorithms to generate a list of recommended editors for the leaders of WikiProjects, and let them to recruit those editors. Do you like the idea? To start, we are planning to conduct a polite study, and contact about 10 - 20 project leaders to participate. A problem then is how to identify the project leaders. I came across the WikiProject report where you did interviews with some participants of the project. I think those participating editors could to some extend be considered as project leaders, or core project members, aren't they? So I wonder how did you identify those editors, maybe as well as the editors who participated the previous interviews in the report. Please let me know. Thanks for your time in advance! Bobo.03 (talk) 03:10, 6 June 2017 (UTC)

@Bobo.03: This sounds like an interesting program that you are working on. As for your question about who are "leaders" of WikiProjects, I suspect that many projects organize themselves differently. However, in my experience, the most active individuals on talkpages or Wikignoming for the project are the core members. People who consider themselves core members will be happy to identify themselves when asked. If I was recruiting folks for your project, I'd post on WikiProject Talk pages and ask for leaders/core members to volunteer. I think that would be the best approach. I am very curious to see how this turns out and I know many people at Wikipedia:WikiProject Women in Red would be interested too. You may want to start there. :) Megalibrarygirl (talk) 18:44, 6 June 2017 (UTC)
@Megalibrarygirl: Thank you for your response! Yeh, I think it would be great to post on project talk pages to ask for volunteers. Thank you for mentioning WikiProject Women in Red! We are still in the planning stage now about how to conduct our project in details, like how to select projects and project leaders, etc, but I will keep that in mind! I will keep you updated if we make good progress! Thanks!! ;) Bobo.03 (talk) 20:41, 6 June 2017 (UTC)
@Bobo.03: Sounds great! I'm looking forward to it. :) Megalibrarygirl (talk) 18:05, 8 June 2017 (UTC)
Hi there Bobo! I'm also very interested in your proposal. In connection with Women in Red, I too often need to identify the most active members of WikiProjects in order to invite them to participate in our work. I find the "Revision history statistics" of WikiProject talk pages particularly useful. You will find them by clicking on "View history" for the talk pages. For example, for Women in Red you will obtain this. The most active editors are listed immediately below the charts. Make sure you examine the dates as you need to pick editors who have contributed fairly recently. For example, if you look at WikiProject Astronomy you will see the top-listed editor has not been active since 2012 while other major contributors have been active recently. If you are interested in finding the most active WikiProjects, you will find a list at Wikipedia:Database reports/WikiProjects by changes (although it has not been updated since last July). If you need further assistance, please let me know.--Ipigott (talk) 10:20, 10 June 2017 (UTC)
Hi Ipigott, thanks for your interest in our project and your great information about those super useful pages - in finding both active editors and active projects! I do agree that identifying those active members sometimes might be tough, especially when you don't feel like acting like sending spams to editors. I think those two approaches of identifying active editors (project leaders) both sound reasonable to me, either by making a post on the project talk pages to let them self identify, or identifying them by the number of edits they have made. I will leverage the two approaches, as each has its own pros and cons I believe. Thank you for your reply again! I will keep you updated once we have further update! :) Bobo.03 (talk) 15:41, 10 June 2017 (UTC)
Hi @Megalibrarygirl: and @Ipigott:, I think I do have a further question that may need your suggestion :) So how often would you like to receive recommendations if you are the project leader who will recruit new editors? For instance, we were thinking to do three or four rounds of recommendations for our study to simulate the real-world situation. Let's say maybe a week-long gap between each round, and maybe 8 - 12 recommended editors for each round. Do you think it would be fine or maybe too intensive, in terms of the frequency and the amount of recommendations? Thanks! Bobo.03 (talk) 01:49, 13 June 2017 (UTC)
@Bobo.03: I think a week between successive contacts is far too short. I would suggest gaps of at least a month. I think it would be better to recommend 20 potential new editors once a month than eight every week. Giving project leaders a month between contacts will also enable them to report back on how things go. You might also want to receive feedback from the new editors themselves. Perhaps you could also think of setting up a central resource where projects could access evolving lists of recommended editors by area of interest.--Ipigott (talk) 09:46, 13 June 2017 (UTC)
@Bobo.03: I agree with Ipigott that a month would be better. I also like the central resource idea. You could set it up on Meta. That also may be a good place to recruit leaders in WikiProjects across wikis. Posting on Usergroups should help identify leaders of projects in different languages. Megalibrarygirl (talk) 16:47, 13 June 2017 (UTC)
@Megalibrarygirl: and @Ipigott:, Yeh, I was not very sure about the appropriate length for that gap, and I do feel too that one week might be too frequent. But as the nature of a research study, I am afraid one month would be a bit too long either.. We want to gather data soon, and conduct our analysis soon to see if the results look promising so we can potentially deploy it in a large scale in Wikipedia, or something like a permanent central resource! But I do get the point that we should give editors a relatively longer period to absorb and react. Thanks for your suggestions. I have started to gather data for the algorithm, and hope we will launch our study soon! :) Bobo.03 (talk) 04:05, 14 June 2017 (UTC)

Gene Grabeel

Hi Megalibrarygirl,

I'm attempting to create a page for Gene Grabeel; you can see my first attempts here (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Grabeel). I do hope to carry on working on it, but I haven't edited many articles in the past (much less created one), so I was wondering if it's possible to add this to a list of Women in Red articles? That way, if anybody on the project is interested, they might take a look.

Thanks, Metabraz (talk) 17:51, 20 June 2017 (UTC)

Hi Metabraz! Yes, please do add the article to a list. Would like help or assistance? Megalibrarygirl (talk) 16:28, 21 June 2017 (UTC)
Hi Megalibrarygirl, thanks for getting back to me. I'm not sure which list would be best to add it to; is there a general list of Women in Red Articles in Progress? Thanks, Metabraz (talk) 16:46, 21 June 2017 (UTC)
Not really, but what I usually do is add the article to the relevant redlist and put a section "Needs improvement" for bluelinks. I've already added your article to the Women in Math redlist just now, so you can see how I normally do it. Feel free to always add to these lists yourself or request help in the future! Megalibrarygirl (talk) 16:58, 21 June 2017 (UTC)

Topics for July

Thanks, Sue, for all the effort you put into creating the editathon pages for next month. I changed the image on Women in India as I was frightened the one you had chosen might upset some of the opposing groups in the Kashmir valley. As there was no Wikidata list for dancers, I created one. I was pleased to see it's quite extensive. The only remaining problem - and I don't know how to solve it - is that the Pinterest links are still pointing to June. As I am not a member of Pinterest, I don't know how to change them. Otherwise everything looks fine. I expect Rosie will send out the MassMessage invitations soon and I will try to follow up with more specific contacts on dance, music and India.--Ipigott (talk) 12:57, 23 June 2017 (UTC)

Oh, good point, Ipigott! I was just looking for images that were unusual and I thought, I'd never seen this kind of army before. But you are absolutely right! >.< Maybe Penny Richards can fix the Pinterest issue for us? Megalibrarygirl (talk) 16:56, 23 June 2017 (UTC)
Yes, I can fix; it's probably just because I hadn't set up the July boards yet. Will do that now. Penny Richards (talk) 21:05, 23 June 2017 (UTC)
Yay! Thank you Penny Richards! Megalibrarygirl (talk) 21:14, 23 June 2017 (UTC)

July 2017 at Women in Red

Welcome to Women in Red's July 2017 worldwide online editathons.

File:60C0074BA4FF-1 Джемма Халид.jpg


(To subscribe: Women in Red/English language list and Women in Red/international list. Unsubscribe: Women in Red/Opt-out list) --Rosiestep (talk) 02:56, 24 June 2017 (UTC) via MassMessaging

Invitation to join WikiProject Organized crime

Hello, Megalibrarygirl.

You are invited to join WikiProject Organized crime, a WikiProject and resource dedicated to improving Wikipedia's coverage of Organized crime topics.
Please check out the project, and if interested feel free to join by adding your name to the member list. North America1000 21:46, 24 June 2017 (UTC)

You've got mail!

Hello, Megalibrarygirl/Archives/2017. Please check your email; you've got mail!
Message added 23:14, 27 June 2017 (UTC). It may take a few minutes from the time the email is sent for it to show up in your inbox. You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{You've got mail}} or {{ygm}} template.

Jamesjpk (talk) 23:14, 27 June 2017 (UTC)

Disability in Yemen

Really nice article! I've created the Disability in Yemen category, consequently I've cleaned up the categorization of the article. I also added a bit about sport - or rather the lack of it! Roger (Dodger67) (talk) 20:09, 4 June 2017 (UTC)

Thanks Dodger67! Yemen is an interesting country. I'm planning on trying to do one disability in X country article a month. :) I appreciate the clean-up too! :D Megalibrarygirl (talk) 20:50, 4 June 2017 (UTC)
I started Draft:Disability in Peru some time ago but just haven't got around to working on it much. If you'd like please have a go at it. My main problem is that I don't know Spanish, so I can't access many sources. I see you're ok with basic Spanish. I also have Draft:Disability in New Zealand, but I'll probably be ok with getting it started by myself. Roger (Dodger67) (talk) 23:01, 4 June 2017 (UTC)
@Dodger67:, I'd be happy to look at the article about Peru. The great thing about living in El Paso is that when my Spanish fails, I have a lot of friends who are fluent to help me out! I'll get on it shortly. :) Megalibrarygirl (talk) 23:03, 5 June 2017 (UTC)
Great job on the Peru article! Roger (Dodger67) (talk) 06:53, 28 June 2017 (UTC)
Thank you, Dodger67! I'm trying to decide which country to do next... Also the article on ADAPT looks like it might need updating. :) Megalibrarygirl (talk) 16:42, 28 June 2017 (UTC)
I think, given your access to sources in Spanish, that you could do another Latin-American country. Roger (Dodger67) (talk) 17:00, 28 June 2017 (UTC)

Women In Red Page Needs Some Love

Thank you, Megalibrarygirl, for your support of women on Wikipedia! A page that was restored by the Women in Red Project is in need of a few experienced wiki editors to watch it. Sending this note in the hopes that you will join the conversation, and give a valuable woman’s voice a chance. Here is the page link.Thanks for all the good you do! A-voice-for-women (talk) 15:56, 28 June 2017 (UTC)

Thanks for the head's up, A-voice-for-women. You're a new editor, I see. How are you enjoying the WiR project? :) Megalibrarygirl (talk) 16:40, 28 June 2017 (UTC)
Megalibrarygirl I am very excited about getting more engaged in this! Thanks for all of the encouragement and positive feedback. This is the first page I am working on, and its hard because there are only a couple of editors looking at besides me and i dont really know what I am doing yet. Would you mind weighing in on the page? Honestly, I dont understand what the debate is, but I am sure, whatever happens, this will be a valuable learning experience! A-voice-for-women (talk) 14:29, 29 June 2017 (UTC)
"A-voice-for-women" has posted similar messages asking for support to seven user talk pages. She is a new editor, and therefore presumably didn't know that this was contrary to Wikipedia:Canvassing, so I have posted to her talk page to let her know. The editor who uses the pseudonym "JamesBWatson" (talk) 21:33, 28 June 2017 (UTC)
Thanks, JamesBWatson. I noticed A-voice-for-women is a new editor and hope they don't feel hesitant to ask for help. It sounds like they posted an inappropriate amount of requests for help if you're saying it's canvassing. It's good to know the important difference between asking for help and posting requests on relevant WikiProjects and talk pages and canvassing on Wikipedia. If A-voice-for-women needs help understanding the Wiki-ways, please feel free to ask us! Megalibrarygirl (talk) 21:53, 28 June 2017 (UTC)
Perhaps to be clear I should say that I did not intend what I wrote to be a criticism of A-voice-for-women, as I have no reason to doubt that what she did was done in perfectly good faith, seeking help. All of us first started editing Wikipedia without a knowledge of all the guidelines and policies, and I know that when I started I did various things which I now know are regarded as unacceptable, so I don't blame anyone else for doing likewise. My message to "A-voice-for-women" was intended to help her to learn what is accepted and what isn't. The editor who uses the pseudonym "JamesBWatson" (talk) 22:13, 28 June 2017 (UTC)
I agree that you weren't critiquing her, JamesBWatson. I just didn't want to scare them away just in case! Thanks for taking the time to make sure we are all on the same page. :) Megalibrarygirl (talk) 22:50, 28 June 2017 (UTC)
This [1] would certainly be considered canvassing if done by an experienced editor. However allowance can be made for new users. JamesBWatson acted appropriately. Xxanthippe (talk) 00:03, 29 June 2017 (UTC).
Totally agree, Xxanthippe, as you can see in the discussion above. I and JamesBWatson already said that it was entirely appropriate and a good move for JamesBWatson to take care of since he was aware of the larger issue on other talk pages. I'm so glad we have people on Wikipedia who not only make sure we welcome new users, but also take the time to explain the rules, like JamesBWatson did for them. He phrased it better than I did! Also glad you could hop in and give us both a pat on the back, Xxanthippe! Your comment is appreciated. :) Megalibrarygirl (talk) 06:31, 29 June 2017 (UTC)
Hi everyone! Xxanthippe Megalibrarygirl JamesBWatson Sorry I didnt mean to create chaos! Yes, I was looking for assistance and a asked 5 users who were affiliated with the page in question in some way (all were former editors or Women In Red champions. I appreciate the correction, but also the encouragement to ask for help. It is very confusing here when you are new! At any rate, lesson learned, and at least i have found some friends now here to ask if I need something...so thank you all! A-voice-for-women (talk) 13:47, 29 June 2017 (UTC)
No worries, A-voice-for-women! It's easy to get lost in the Wikirules and some of us sometimes disagree about how to apply them. The important thing is for us all to communicate, like you saw JamesBWatson, Xxanthippe and myself do above. We all try to assume good faith of editors and help new editors out. Please don't hesitate to ask a question if you're unsure of something on Wiki. The Teahouse is also a great place to ask questions. We are all glad to welcome you to Wikipedia, A-voice-for-women! Megalibrarygirl (talk) 16:36, 29 June 2017 (UTC)
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