Wikipedia:Meetup/Belvedere-Tiburon Library, January 2014

We held an "Introduction to Wikipedia" event on a Wednesday evening in January 2014 at the Belvedere-Tiburon Library. About eight local residents attended, including two local historians who run a local archive. Some had worked a little on Wikipedia, but not enough to have a very thorough understanding of how it worked; so we had lots of good questions and ideas. We edited a few pages about local topics together, doing small tasks like correcting article titles and repairing redirects.

Schedule

 * 6:00 to 6:15: Introductions, and refreshments (?)
 * 6:15 to 7:00: Introductory presentation by Pete Forsyth, followed by Q&A. What's unique about Wikipedia? Why was it founded, why is it so successful? How does it work without a centralized editorial control? How does the software work -- that is, how can you get started?
 * 7:00 to 9:00: Edit-a-thon. Bring your laptop, and any reference materials you like. Local history is always an interesting topic! We will form small groups and work on articles together; beginners can work with more experienced editors to get coaching and advice.

What to expect
Participants will:
 * gain a hands-on understanding of how Wikipedia came to be, and how it fits into the modern media landscape
 * learn how to contribute their knowledge and skills
 * meet neighbors who are interested in Wikipedia
 * meet active contributors to Wikipedia

We looked at, and made edits to some of, the following articles:
 * San Francisco (an example of a high quality Featured Article)
 * Tiburon (redirect page)
 * Tiburon, California
 * Old Saint Hilary's Church

Participants
Pete (a Wikipedia expert) and Ivan (local librarian) hosted the event; about eight people attended. Photos will be uploaded commons:category:Wikimedia meetup at Belvedere-Tiburon Library, January 2014