INSIGHT
‘‘ K&IM Matters
Wikipedia: to love or loathe? W
HEN I received an invite to the latest NetIKX seminar, I couldn’t refuse. Not just because
it would be an opportunity to network but also the subject matter, which was on Wikimedia and knowledge sharing or “Why the knowledge community should love Wikipedia and its sister projects.”
Questions of gallstones I’ve never been a huge fan of Wikipedia as I think of the Dilbert cartoon where one of the women in the offi ce is talking about the weight of her fi rst baby and Topper in the offi ce says “I once passed a gallstone so big that it became secretary of labour in the Clinton Administration”. When the woman says “I fi nd that hard to believe”, he replies “Give me 10 minutes and I’ll check Wikipedia”. Needless to say, the concept of anyone editing content has always worried me, but I thought this seminar looked interesting and could perhaps answer many questions I have about the use of Wikipedia and how it is managed.
Sharing knowledge Well, I was in for a surprise. Presenter Andy Mabbett has a depth of experience and knowledge of the Wikimedia foundation and obviously of Wikipedia itself.
Andy began by detailing what the Wikimedia foundation’s vision is: “Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. That is our commitment.”
Wikipedia is designed to be the single location where anyone can fi nd the relevant information they seek without having to go searching through many
March 2019
texts or websites for the one quote or idea in the original document. We know the links in Wikipedia take us to other texts or websites about the person or subject.
What I wasn’t aware of is that there are registered editors and also that anyone on the internet can edit items stored in Wikipedia. I was also surprised to know it has no copyright applied – everything published has been agreed for re-use, which will include paintings from museums and galleries that have added images from their collections.
Reliable resource
In its 18 years of existence it is now seen as a very reliable resource, compared to its early days. Registered editors will cross check new material and newly-registered editors’ contributions to ensure it meets editorial rules such as neutrality, relevance and of course, fact and truth. Everyone adds their ingredient as an editor to make the page “rich”. This made me think of #FactsMatter and how the Wikimedia Foundation recognises the importance of correct information available for all.
Continuity of information There are various Wikimedia projects and we were shown how they can be linked to the single Wikipedia page to enrich it. All these linked projects are designed so the information is used many times but not duplicated. It pulls information from other Wikimedia repositories such as image collections, audio recordings, data tables etc. The information boxes at the side of pages are even machine-readable and pull information as it is updated. This also works with the Wikipedia in other languages. If one is updated
Mairéad Smith is the senior KIM Subject Matter Expert for the British Army, with 18 years’ experience of the MOD.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mairéadsmith-aclip.
What I wasn’t aware of is that there are registered editors and also that anyone on the internet can edit items stored in Wikipedia.
(no matter the language), they all are. So continuity of the information is maintained and nobody has to work to update them all separately. In terms of knowledge and sharing knowledge this is important, as is the availability of Wikimedias in a range of languages which increases this sharing capability. And of course, as long as people have access to a computer or phone they can delve into this world of knowledge and increase their own. At the close of the day, in celebration of 18 years of Wikipedia, each professional in the room was asked to add one citation or one author to Wikipedia under the tag #1Lib1Ref
We should grasp this and add our ingredients to add more fl avour to Wikipedia and make it as rich as it can be. I can confi dently say I am a convert. IP
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K&IM Matters
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