Wikipedia:GLAM/Wikipedians in Special Residence in the Netherlands 2013-2015





Wikipedians in Special Residence (WisR's, Netherlands, November 2013 - March 2015) was a project in which two hired Wikipedians linked the data and expertise of twelve specialised Dutch libraries with Wikimedia sites. Project initiators and leads were Jos Damen (African Studies Centre Leiden, Leiden) and Ingeborg Verheul (Atria, Amsterdam) for WSWB, the Werkgroep Speciale Wetenschappelijke Bibliotheken (Dutch Academic Library Working Group), a collaboration of Dutch libraries, which coordinated this project. The difference with a regular Wikipedian in Residence project was that in the present project twelve libraries have had their own Wikipedian for two months each.

Goals

 * 1) Upload of data curated by the libraries to Wikimedia Commons.
 * 2) Application of the expertise of the libraries to Wikipedia.
 * 3) Education of the staff of the libraries in this new interactive medium, promote contributions tot Wikimedia and elicit collaboration between the twelve libraries.
 * 4) Enrichment of Wikipedia using expert knowledge from the libraries.

Intended results

 * 1) At least 25,000 uploads of images etc. to Wikimedia Commons.
 * 2) At least 1,000 new or improved articles on Wikipedia.
 * 3) New context for data and collections by taking a thematic approach.
 * 4) Enhanced expertise of library staff on Wikimedia.
 * 5) Improved collaboration of the twelve participating specialised libraries within the WSWB.

Themes and participating libraries
Selected themes and the corresponding twelve libraries are: These themes should no be construed too strictly: new combinations may emerge from the collaboration between various libraries. The WisR's can work from the perspective of Wikipedia and complement fields which are represented poorly in Wikipedia. They are free to choose their subjects and collections within a library. Of course the WisR's will not promote the libraries on Wikipedia. Instead, it is their brief to put the collections, images, information and metadata of the libraries within reach of the public.
 * 1) Art and cultural data (libraries of Rijksmuseum, EYE Film Institute Netherlands, Boekman Foundation (nl), and Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed, Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands)
 * 2) War and peace (libraries of the NIOD and Peace Palace)
 * 3) Third world collections (Afrika-Studiecentrum, Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies, KITLV and Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies)
 * 4) Gender and diversity (Atria Institute on gender equality and women's history, and IHLIA LGBT Heritage)
 * 5) Health (Netherlands Cancer Institute - Antoni van Leeuwenhoekziekenhuis)

Method and planning
Two Wikipedians were hired as contractors for fourteen months: one month of preparation, six residencies of two months each at various libraries, and a final month to collect the results. Although digitization can be a part of the project, the broader goals were
 * 1) incorporating digital data in Wikipedia through Wikimieda Commons. The Wikipedian in special Residence collects material on relevant subject within the expertise of the hosting library and expands articles on Wikipedia with text, references, links, audio files and images.
 * 2) application of the expertise of the libraries and expand Wikipedia articles likewise.
 * 3) inviting library staff and volunteers of the participating institutions to contribute to Wikipedia by providing training sessions and support.

Monitoring
The project manager presided over a monitoring group, consisting of representatives of the libraries, members of the Wikipedia community and the two Wikipidiena in special residence.

Planning
X denotes the in-house wikipedian, his colleague can assist him.

November 2013: Two Wikipedians get down to work
In November 2013 two Dutch Wikipedians in Special Residence, Hans Muller and Arie Sonneveld, have commenced their employment with twelve special Dutch libraries. Sonneveld (Gebruiker:Theobald Tiger) and Muller (Gebruiker:Hansmuller, User:JMMuller) are both well-versed Wikipedians. They have edited thousands of articles and started hundreds of articles as well on Dutch Wikipedia.

Muller has a background in physics, astronomy and Dutch archives. He was employed, e.g., as an astronomer in Rome, Italy, as a teacher and as a organiser for the Dutch chapter Wikimedia Nederland of the Wikimedia Foundation. Sonneveld studied at Wageningen University, and has been an editor, translator and manager of large bookshops and public libraries. Due to their encyclopedic interests and backgrounds, they will be up to the task of engaging with the very diverse fields of the twelve libraries and Wikipedia. Vysotsky 31 okt 2013 23:18 (CET) (adaptation Hansmuller (talk) 07:13, 10 May 2024 (UTC))

Results

 * See also List of edited articles with example images.

Publications in English

 * Alihusain, C.: Wikimedia Project: Digitalizing Engravings and Lithographs from the Old and Rare Books Collection, Peace Palace Library News, 1 september 2014
 * Browne, Nigel and Muller, Hans, Wikipedian in special Residence at IHS (with invitation to upload images to Wikimedia Commons), June 2014
 * Muller, Hans, Outreach wikipedia Report, May 2014
 * Muller, Hans: Africa and Wikipedia, in Habari (ASC) and Annual Report 2013 African Studies Centre, Leiden
 * Muller, Hans and Damen, Jos: 'Wikipedia for Africanists'. In: African Research & Documentation 124 (2014), 3-9
 * Steenhard, R. and Hans Muller, Hans, Library donates high resolution photographs to Wikimedia Commons, Newsletter Peace Palace Library, May 2014

> More in Dutch at Wikipedians in Special Residence

Showcase
Below selected pairs of nice new articles and images – according to uploaders – added to Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons in this project.


 * African Studies Centre, Leiden
 * articles: Kapsiki, Pieter-Dirk Uys
 * images: commons:Category:Sierra Leone in the 1930s (Photographs Sierra Leone in the 1930s, fieldwork by Sjoerd Hofstra)