I went to Wiki GLAM Camp

Geer Oskam, Europeana Senior Marketing Specialist tells us what he got up to last weekend…

Last weekend, I went to a Wiki GLAM Camp! What that means is I went to London and sat down with a group of Wikipedians (people who write for Wikipedia) and representatives of GLAM institutions – that is Galleries, Libraries, Archives, Museums. We talked about collaborations between Wikimedia (providers of the largest online encyclopaedia, Wikipedia) and cultural institutions. The aim for both parties was to find out how to benefit from each other’s knowledge.

Europeana is getting more and more acquainted with the Wikimedia community. For the second year running, we are working together on the Wiki Loves Monuments photo contest. As part of the Europeana Awareness project, we are collaborating with the Wiki community even more this year. Together with the Wikimedia Sweden Chapter, we are organising a series of events across Europe with the aim of making Wikipedians aware of the open data that Europeana has to offer.

Why are we doing this? Just ask yourself: how often do I visit a Wikipedia page? And ask yourself: how often do I think internet users stop by at a Wikipedia page? Also, search for any subject on Google and what comes out as one of the first results? Correct, a Wikipedia page.

These Wikipedia pages have a huge impact on the visibility of cultural heritage. Imagine what a page enriched with the correct data (image / text) can do for your institution and your collection.

Some cultural institutions already collaborate with Wikipedians, for example by creating a space for a Wikipedian-in-Residence; but there are also many GLAM professionals who don’t yet know how they can get involved.

If you’re interested in working with Wikipedia, I have good news - there is a special GLAM-WIKI Conference coming up.

The GLAM-WIKI Conference 2013 will be held at the British Library in London on Friday 12 - Sunday 14 April 2013. This is the second conference in the series and brings professionals from GLAM institutions together with activists, volunteers and those interested in open content for the cultural sector, especially on Wikipedia and the other projects of the Wikimedia Foundation.

The conference is organised by Wikimedia UK in association with Wikimedia Sweden and Europeana, and hosted by the British Library. The cost to attendees will be low, especially for those from GLAM institutions and Wikimedia volunteers.

The agenda will include sessions on open content initiatives, Wikimedia partnerships, practical workshops and the sharing of interests and best practices.

If you are interested in attending the conference, would like to give a presentation or have some general inquiries, please send an email to daria.cybulska@wikimedia.org.uk or give her a call on +44 (0) 207 065 0994. Any other questions I am also happy to answer geer.oskam@kb.nl