Wikipedia:GLAM/US/Interns and volunteers



This page is used to list internship and volunteer opportunities from cultural institutions seeking experienced Wikipedians. Use the navigation tabs above to learn more about the GLAM-Wiki project.

View expired listings in the /Archive.

National Archives and Records Administration

 * Type: Unpaid/student internship
 * Apply: http://www.archives.gov/careers/internships/virtual/index.html#wikipedian
 * Location: Anywhere
 * Deadline: Open until filled

Two volunteer interns are needed in the Office of Innovation, located in College Park, MD to work approximately 8-12 hours per week. The options offered below are for either technically or community-oriented internships. Virtual interns are welcome to work from any location.

Interns are encouraged to work with their educational institutions to obtain course credit for this unpaid internship.

Wikipedia Technical Intern

 * Responsibilities :

Tasks the selected candidate will be expected to perform may include, but may not be limited to, the following.
 * Scripting for upload bot: Provide technical support for NARA’s upload project, which seeks to upload NARA digital assets and metadata to Wikimedia Commons. This includes scripting new features for the existing Python code, and maintaining NARA’s custom Wikimedia Commons templates.
 * Analytics: Primarily using Wikimedia Tool Labs, intern will run database queries or create new tools to assist in NARA’s Wikimedia-related analytics collecting.
 * Special projects: In consultation with assigned mentor, intern may initiate new NARA-related projects.
 * MediaWiki development: Coding new patches to MediaWiki software where relevant to NARA’s Wikimedia activities, as directed by assigned mentor.


 * Requirements :

Experience editing Wikipedia is required. Editors must be in good standing within the community. You will update your Wikipedia user page to declare your affiliation with the National Archives and Records Administration, and refrain from promotional edits or violations of Wikipedia's conflict of interest policy. Interns are still accountable to the Wikipedia community for their edits.


 * Basic :


 * Good technical skills, including familiarity with wiki markup and template coding, Python, and/or JavaScript
 * Ability to run database queries using Wikimedia Tool Labs account
 * Familiarity with Wikipedia social conventions, policies, and communication channels
 * Ability to communicate technical concepts and needs to non-technical NARA staff
 * Interest in GLAM-Wiki project, archives, or U.S. history


 * Preferred :


 * Experience with coding and running bots on Wikimedia projects, especially image upload
 * Technical understanding of images, file formats, structured metadata, and related issues
 * Familiarity with Wikidata, Wikisource, and/or Wikimedia Commons

Only email applications will be considered. Please email documents to the attention of Dannielle Blumenthal at [mailto:dannielle.blumenthal@nara.gov dannielle.blumenthal@nara.gov].

Wikipedia Community Intern

 * Responsibilities :

Tasks the selected candidate will be expected to perform may include, but may not be limited to, the following.


 * WikiProject coordination: Organizing the NARA WikiProject's efforts on-wiki. This might include improving and updating the WikiProject's pages, creation of a better portal for open tasks, promotion of the WikiProject and current and future initiatives (like the DYK and featured article challenges), documenting our progress, tagging and assessing articles, and generally serving as the organizer for the WikiProject. Our goal is for the WikiProject to be a sustainable collaboration by the Wikipedians, not run by the National Archives alone.
 * Communications: Proactively promoting NARA-related initiatives and the WikiProject, or reporting on successes, internally within the Wikimedia community, using noticeboards, talk pages, the Signpost, This Month in GLAM, and other forums as appropriate. May initiate NARA WikiProject newsletter.
 * Special projects: In consultation with assigned mentor, intern may initiate new NARA-related collaborations, contests, or other projects.
 * Editor assistance: Monitoring NARA project pages and acting as a main point of contact, easily answering questions or bringing them to the attention of staff. Welcome and mentor new Wikipedians joining to work on NARA project.


 * Requirements :

Experience editing Wikipedia is required. Editors must be in good standing within the community. You must conform toWikipedia's policies and practices, writing with aneutral tone and bearing in mindnotability and verifiability guidelines. You will update your Wikipedia user page to declare your affiliation with the National Archives and Records Administration, and refrain from promotional edits or violations of Wikipedia's conflict of interest policy. Interns are still accountable to the Wikipedia community for their edits.


 * Basic :


 * Good communication skills and helpful, community-minded attitude
 * Ability to welcome and mentor new editors
 * Familiarity with Wikipedia social conventions, policies, and communication channels
 * Prior participation in a WikiProject
 * Experience with article-writing, and Wikipedia’s various article review processes
 * Interest in GLAM-Wiki project, archives, or U.S. history


 * Preferred :


 * Experience with coordination of a WikiProject
 * Familiarity with Wikisource and/or Wikimedia Commons

Only email applications will be considered. Please email documents to the attention of Dannielle Blumenthal at [mailto:dannielle.blumenthal@nara.gov dannielle.blumenthal@nara.gov].

Smithsonian Institution

 * Type: Volunteer
 * Apply: http://www.si.edu/Volunteer/DigitalVolunteers
 * Location: Anywhere or D.C. area
 * Deadline: Open until filled

Smithsonian Wikipedian Volunteer Program
The Smithsonian seeks both digital and on-site volunteers to assist in contributing content to Wikipedia related to our collections and areas of expertise. Improving the quality and quantity of reliable information on Wikipedia, as well as usage of Smithsonian resources on the site, helps meet our mission, the "increase and diffusion of knowledge."

The Smithsonian Wikipedia Volunteer Program seeks experienced and motivated individuals with Wikipedia editing experience or a willingness to acquire editing skills. Online volunteers participate through the Smithsonian Institution's WikiProject, where organizational priorities will be listed and resources provided for editors. In addition, on-site volunteers work closely with Smithsonian staff on a particular Wikipedia-related task under the auspices of Smithsonian's Behind the Scenes volunteer program.

To find out more about how to become a Wikipedia volunteer for the Smithsonian, e-mail: [mailto:wiki@si.edu wiki@si.edu].

Center for History and New Media

 * Type: Unpaid research position
 * Apply: http://chnm.gmu.edu/news/position-announcement-wikipedia-affiliate-roy-rosenzweig-center-for-history-and-new-media/
 * Location: Anywhere
 * Deadline: ''January 20, 2014

Wikipedia Affiliate
Position announcement: Wikipedia Affiliate, Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media In conjunction with The Wikipedia Library project, the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media (RRCHNM) at George Mason University is seeking applicants for a “Wikipedia Affiliate.” This is an unpaid, year-long, remote research position beginning March 1, 2014 and ending February 28, 2015 that entitles the affiliate to full library privileges at George Mason University, including proxied access to all online materials to which the GMU Libraries subscribe: more than 400 databases, thousands of scholarly journals and mainstream periodicals, and hundreds of ebooks. The position is designed to give research library access to a Wikipedia editor who does not currently have such access or who has only limited access to scholarly resources: the purpose of the position is to help improve Wikipedia’s reliability and accuracy by providing Wikipedia editors with access to the best scholarly information resources while providing a model for other universities to do likewise.

The affiliate will be an experienced Wikipedia editor with at least one year of regular activity contributing to Wikipedia on historical topics in any field, region, or period. The affiliate will also be a thorough researcher who is committed to improving Wikipedia articles by consulting and citing reliable, scholarly sources and who is a lucid writer of text for Wikipedia encyclopedia articles on historical topics. An undergraduate or graduate degree in History, Art History, or a related discipline is desirable but not required.
 * Qualifications

During the affiliate year, the affiliate will conduct scholarly research using the library resources of George Mason University with the aim of significantly improving the accuracy and reliability at least 25 Wikipedia articles on historical topics, preferably articles within a particular historical scope (for example: modern Russian and Soviet history, U.S. Civil War history, the history of late imperial China). Near the end of the affiliate year, the affiliate will write a brief report listing the Wikipedia articles he or she has contributed to and improved over the course of the year, describing how his or her access to GMU library resources has helped increase the reliability of Wikipedia on this topic and analyzing whether the affiliate program could serve as a model for other universities. The affiliate will also be asked to give a brief talk on the same subject to RRCHNM, either in person or via a remote technology such as Skype.
 * Position Description and Duties

To apply, please send the following documents to Dr. Amanda French at [mailto:afrench5@gmu.edu afrench5@gmu.edu] by January 20, 2014:
 * Application Instructions


 * 1) A standard résumé or curriculum vitae that also includes
 * 2) * a link to your Wikipedia profile and
 * 3) * at least three links to Wikipedia articles on historical topics that you have contributed to.
 * 4) A cover letter that includes
 * 5) * a description of your background, including why you contribute to Wikipedia and what level of historical expertise and interest you have in which fields, regions, or periods;
 * 6) * a summary of what access you currently have (or don’t have) to research materials such as databases and scholarly journals;
 * 7) * an explanation of why you want to become a Wikipedia Affiliate to RRCHNM; and
 * 8) * a brief outline of the historical topic(s) and/or specific Wikipedia articles you would focus on during your affiliate year.

All applicants will be notified of the outcome of the search by the end of February 2014. The affiliate year will begin March 1, 2014.