Wikipedia:The Wikipedia Library/Extension

 The Wikipedia Library open research hub The Wikipedia Library connects editors with libraries, open access resources, paywalled databases, digital reference tools, and research experts

The Wikipedia Library is poised to continue growing and achieving its goals. We are excitedly requesting a 6-month extension for phase 2 of the project.

In the past 6 months we laid the foundation for The Wikipedia Library's future growth and expansion. We built a team of volunteers and a hub for connecting the Wikipedia community to the library and its research access opportunities, and have laid the groundwork for partnerships with many key research databases and university libraries. We also produced a code specification for a reference tool script we are developing which will place links to full-text sources next to references in Wikipedia articles. There is so much more we can do. A six-month extension is necessary to fully realize the potential of this project.

New aims
Phase 2 involves expansion of existing successful programs, integration of volunteers, creation of usable deployed reference tech tools, deeper outreach, and new experiments.

Budget
The phase 2 budget includes more funding for essential project management, tech development, impact analysis, and networking with library experts. Total Phase 2 budget: $21,200

Rationale for scope and budget increase
Phase 1 of The Wikipedia Library had a budget of $7,500, making the phase 2 proposed budget 300% of the initial round. Here's why that increase is appropriate:

Remaining in the IEG program
We are still at a stage where the library is nimble and the workload is manageably distributed between paid coordinators and volunteers.
 * There's not enough work to grow to an organization yet. We are funding the equivalent of one 40 hr/wk employee, but instead of giving all of the responsibility to a single person, we are giving multiple individuals domains of management.  This builds sustainability with moderate growth expectations.
 * We are fortunate enough to be nimble, to have no big bureaucracy for overseeing volunteers, and to be able to rely on simple, good community organizing through the established participation history of the coordinators and volunteers. We do not yet see the need for organizational funding or reporting as we have continued to successfully grow and expand within the Individual model.
 * Jake (Ocaasi) is still comfortably overseeing project operations while recruiting more and more experts to handle program implementation. Pat is fully invested as a coordinator, but is not in a position to devote more than part-time hours to the projects.
 * We'd also like to add that IEG guidance from Siko has been both encouraging and reinforcing. We are still learning a lot with her and want to keep doing so.
 * Finally, the total funding amount for phase 2 is still 30% under the maximum IEG grant cap. While not a strong delimiter, that budget number is a further good estimate for when a project has achieved the size and scope that would necessitate an organizational grant rather than an individual one.