User:Mary Mark Ockerbloom

Thousands of times every day we make the most fundamental of decisions -- whether to build up or tear down.

Positions
My name is Mary Mark Ockerbloom, and I am a Wikipedian. Among other activities, I work with educational, scientific and cultural organizations to fill knowledge gaps on Wikipedia. I advise partners on the appropriate use of Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons and Wikidata. I assess whether or not specific topics would be suitable for inclusion on Wikipedia, based on Wikipedia's policies and guidelines, including notability, neutrality, verifiability, and conflict of interest. I create and update information on Wikimedia platforms to summarize accepted knowledge, written neutrally and sourced reliably, to ensure that such information is accurate and up-to-date. In this work, I follow the COI Guidelines and act in accordance with Wikipedia’s mission.

Past or current partners include the Science History Institute, the scientific publisher Annual Reviews, and Capital Media Group, for whom I create content relating to education and public programming in the areas of science, the history of science, and women in science. These are areas in which I have written extensively on Wikipedia.

I have edited Wikipedia since 2006, writing widely in areas that include literature, art, craft, science and disinformation. I have written articles for the Signpost and presented at WikiConference North America. I have been a full-time Wikipedian in Residence at the Science History Institute and at Annual Reviews. I also give workshops and talks and co-host the online Philadelphia WikiSalon, a meetup for editors who want to learn more about Wikimedia projects and develop their skills.

Annual Reviews

 * Wikipedian In Residence (May 4, 2021-December 22, 2023, occasional thereafter): As Wikipedian in Residence for Annual Reviews, I helped to keep science current on Wikipedia using open-content published sources. My work for Annual Reviews is done under a secondary user account, User:MaryMO (AR), for tracking purposes.  My personal editing is  done under my main account, Mary Mark Ockerbloom.

Science History Institute

 * Wikipedian In Residence (May 2013-June 22, 2020): Contracts at Chemical Heritage Foundation, Philadelphia, PA, May-June 2013; September-December 2013; January-June, 2014; Ongoing staff as of September 4, 2014; renamed the Science History Institute as of February 1, 2018; one of 16 positions ended due to "a reduction in force" as of June 22, 2020.

A Celebration of Women Writers

 * Editor (Ongoing, volunteer, 1994-present): A Celebration of Women Writers lists 26,000+ women authors, 22,000+ author information links, and 16,000+ freely readable on-line books by women. I have also republished over 425 books online, in particular travel accounts, science fiction, and Newbery award winners.

Conference presentations

 * Mark Ockerbloom. Mary. Defense against the Dark Arts: Disinformation on Wikipedia, WIkiConference 2023. Proposal, Video on Commons (recorded after the conference).

Signpost articles

 * Wikipedia's war against scientific disinformation, January 31, 2021
 * Is writing Wikipedia like making a quilt?, by Mary Mark Ockerbloom, Dilettante Army and Pharos, September 26, 2021; Republished on Diff for the Wikimedia Foundation, October 6, 2021.

Articles created and DYKs
For a complete list of all DYK credits and accompanying Did You Know facts, see User:Mary Mark Ockerbloom/DKYs. (Last updated March 9, 2024, with my 100th DYK.)

Some other articles
Here are some articles which I substantially modified as part of QPQ requirement for DYKs, for events, or to rescue from Draft space, and particularly want to remember.

Single-event Workshops and talks led, co-led or hosted
For frequently recurring events such as PACSCL workdays and WikiSalons, see later sections.

PACSCL Editing Sessions
Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collections Libraries (PACSCL) members and others are adding finding aid links from the Philadelphia Area Archival and Research Portal (PAARP) to related Wikipedia pages and Wikidata items. PACSCL editing sessions are often organized around a particular topic or skill.

WikiSalons Online
For WikiSalon dates after December 2021 and current Wikipedia activities in the Philadelphia area, see Meetup/Philadelphia.

GLAM Cafés hosted or attended
The GLAM Café is no longer active. For current Wikipedia activities in the Philadelphia area, see Meetup/Philadelphia.

News coverage

 * 2022


 * 2020
 * Event inspired by participation at our October Women in Science event.
 * 2019
 * (French language)
 * (English language)
 * (English language)
 * 2018


 * 2017
 * Twitter Takeover Storify of report on Wikimania 2017
 * 2016
 * 2015
 * Philly edit-a-thon seeks to close Wiki gender gap, Steve Trader, WHYY, February 27, 2015
 * Edit-a-thon helps close Wikipedia's gender gap (photos), Steve Trader, WHYY, March 3, 2015
 * Philly edit-a-thon seeks to close Wiki gender gap, Steve Trader, WHYY, February 27, 2015
 * Edit-a-thon helps close Wikipedia's gender gap (photos), Steve Trader, WHYY, March 3, 2015
 * Philly edit-a-thon seeks to close Wiki gender gap, Steve Trader, WHYY, February 27, 2015
 * Edit-a-thon helps close Wikipedia's gender gap (photos), Steve Trader, WHYY, March 3, 2015


 * 2014
 * ; coverage of ArtAndFeminism event, featured Eve Mosher which I created and Dorrit Black which I worked on


 * 2013

Grant proposals

 * American Craft Journals on Wikidata, ruled ineligible on the grounds that it was too focused on expertise and not sufficiently volunteer-oriented for the grant