Wikipedia talk:The Wikipedia Library/Processes/Library card platform

rawr, I get to make the first talk page edit
Some general questions:


 * What are the big technical blockers for this? JSTOR support for oauth is one I can think of, but I'm sure you folks have thought of others.
 * Oauth integration would be a secondary element: what is more important is the ability to track users through the application process, and send them access information. Sadads (talk) 00:50, 18 September 2014 (UTC)
 * Where is the management of this project going to happen. Here? On meta?
 * Platform-wise, the goal is to move the signups and management off the wikis entirely so that we can create a secure environment for managing personal data. Thus partner pages wouldn't be wiki-specific, but users could land at the tools portal, sign in, submit their data once, and get personal information captured, screened, and emailed with access information, Sadads (talk) 00:50, 18 September 2014 (UTC)
 * Sorry, I don't think I was clear. Where will the management of this project (i.e. the building of the library card system) take place? Protonk (talk) 00:52, 18 September 2014 (UTC)
 * Ocaasi and I can coordinate it in whatever environment is best (email, off-wiki, on-wiki, etc). Sadads (talk) 00:59, 18 September 2014 (UTC)
 * What's the expected timeframe?
 * We are talking about building it sometime in early 2015 right now. Sadads (talk) 00:50, 18 September 2014 (UTC)

One specific question:

Thanks, Protonk (talk) 23:08, 17 September 2014 (UTC)
 * In Proposed Solution we write "The functionality of the tools would require functionalities similar to a form submission tools like Google Docs, a user database, spreadsheet logic and mail merge." I want to push back on this. What specifically do we need the tool(s) to do for coordinators? Building a system for user management/tracking is easier than building one with "spreadsheet logic" and "mail merge". I submit that those two requirements may not be necessary. Perhaps I'm wrong.
 * That is a good point, did some revisions to better handle that. Are the changes clearer? Sadads (talk) 00:50, 18 September 2014 (UTC)
 * I think I'm missing something. I don't see any material changes on the page between 23:08 UTC and now (you made one edit to add headers, I think). Also let me make my interest more blunt. This project looks neat and I want to help. I'm asking this question because I think I can help (technically) and I want to be clear on what your needs are before I say "yah I could do that" Protonk (talk) 00:55, 18 September 2014 (UTC)
 * Sorry didn't save right away, now I have, Sadads (talk) 00:59, 18 September 2014 (UTC)
 * Got it. That's more clear. Thanks. Protonk (talk) 01:10, 18 September 2014 (UTC)

Integration with WikiProjects
Hello. This is a bit far-fetched at this point, but I wish for reform of the structure of WikiProjects, and I wish that the library card platform could be integrated somehow with the notion of a WikiProject. Probably the subject matter experts most knowledgeable about source material would be found at a given WikiProject rather than in the library space, and for that reason, I wish that the Wikipedia Library could natively partner with WikiProjects to the extent that it is mutually beneficial. In any cases in which access to research is limited this could establish more community buy-in for deciding who gets access to services, but more importantly, WikiProjects seem to me to be a good way to encourage users to apply for access to resources when they are available but not being used which I think will be the bigger long-term problem.

I cannot say how this should look, but if for example there was an information sheet which advertised resources in a particular field, then I would like to see that sheet shared at a WikiProject.  Blue Rasberry  (talk)  16:01, 14 October 2014 (UTC)


 * Hey, . As of right now the library platform is looking to accomplish a pretty stripped down set of goals (see the user stories--it's not linked to the platform doc yet but it will be). I think (and I can't speak for Jake or the other library staff) this would be a great path forward for the project as a whole but not the platform. Protonk (talk) 18:14, 14 October 2014 (UTC)
 * What about a box which WikiProjects could display to link to Wikipedia Library resources? Right now not even that much is available, and still most people do not know about these resources.  Blue Rasberry   (talk)  18:49, 14 October 2014 (UTC)
 * Hey Bluerasberry: I think working something into the Assessment templates and the project page templates would be great! If you wanted to add an owl and link to the resources available through TWL that would be awesome! If you draft, Jake, or I can review and push it out, Sadads (talk) 19:18, 14 October 2014 (UTC)
 * That would probably require community consensus, however, Sadads (talk) 19:29, 14 October 2014 (UTC)
 * That we could probably do. I'll give a better estimation of that by next week, but I think a standing page for partner resources that wikiprojects could link to is in the works. Protonk (talk) 19:31, 14 October 2014 (UTC)

Usage with time
It might be interesting for users, and coordinators, to see when links to a partner are added relative to when the user gained access to them. This would be a nice feature for users to have but would primarily help point one ("without more tracking tools, we don't have reliable methods for reengaging users at any stage in the process") Tracking these statistics would give a good sense of when it might be a good time to send a user a reminder of their access to a given source, or could allow a more general automatic method for doing so, e.g. we might find that users post lots of links in the first week and then trail off, and so it might be a good idea to automate some kind of reminder message after one week for everyone, or a message if a user hasn't used a source in one month, something like that. Sam Walton (talk) 17:17, 18 March 2015 (UTC)