Different wikis are different. From what I have heard, German Wikipedia encourages people to write about their employers, while this would be very controversial on English Wikipedia. The standard I have heard most often is whether you are paid by the organization. Making a small edit like correcting an error in the hours of service or the address would not be controversial, but editing an article about your library or your boss would be. If you are being pressured to write about your institution, you can show them this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Conflict_of_interest Some people put a statement about their employer on their user page for transparency
The collection itself is a different question, since a non-profit exists to share information as a public service. There's an interesting Conflict of Interest statement here: https://narations.blogs.archives.gov/2012/09/27/how-does-nara-avoid-conflicts-of-interest-on-wikipedia/ On Fri, Oct 5, 2018 at 10:55 AM Rajene Hardeman <[email protected]> wrote: > Thanks. We had a good session this past Wednesday with librarians new to > Wikipedia and I referenced the bullet points Jake sent. > > (p.s. This below email was a draft that I accidentally sent this morning. > All is well) > > > On Oct 5, 2018, at 10:03 AM, Bob Kosovsky <[email protected]> wrote: > > Hi Rajene, > > It's not a black-and-white distinction but one of degrees. If I am in one > of the best positions to describe a topic, why shouldn't I add such > information to Wikipedia? One thing I ask myself: If someone not in my > position added this information would it be accepted? If the answer is > yes, then I have no qualms about adding such information. Is it > promotion? To an extent it is, but it's information that others may have a > difficult time acquiring. > > You mention an "exhibit" but I feel that many library exhibits do not > achieve notability by themselves (unless an accompanying book is published > along with substantial reviews of the exhibit). If there's a lasting > website exhibit, then I might add it as a link. > > I know others have had difficulty adding links to archival resources, a > problem which I've rarely had. I think the difference might be one of > reputation. I'm active in several WikiProjects and have created/editing > lots of articles, not all necessarily in my professed field (I'm a music > librarian, yet I created article on what was the longest river in > Manhattan <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minetta_Creek> - the article was > assessed as a GA). In other words, my track record proves to the community > that I'm not on Wikipedia for promotion, but I'm there to add to the > encyclopedia. > > > Bob Kosovsky, Ph.D. -- Curator, Rare Books and Manuscripts, > Music Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts > blog: http://www.nypl.org/blog/author/44 Twitter: @kos2 > Listowner: OPERA-L ; EXLIBRIS-L ; SMT-ANNOUNCE ; SoundForge-users > - My opinions do not necessarily represent those of my institutions - > > *Inspiring Lifelong Learning* | *Advancing Knowledge* | *Strengthening > Our Communities * > > > On Fri, Oct 5, 2018 at 7:13 AM Rajene Hardeman <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> Thanks Bob and all, >> >> My real question was not about new editors trying to write about their >> own library; >> >> My question is when you want to write about items in your collection, or >> historic events surrounding your location or an exhibit which could use >> encyclopedic fortification using resources from your library. Are you >> promoting your library collection/environment (conflict of interest) or are >> you adding relevant content to Wikipedia (using your expertise to provide >> sources). And how do you understand the boundary. >> >> > On Sep 20, 2018, at 6:48 PM, Bob Kosovsky <[email protected]> wrote: >> > >> > the >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Libraries mailing list >> [email protected] >> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/libraries >> > _______________________________________________ > Libraries mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/libraries > > _______________________________________________ > Libraries mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/libraries >
_______________________________________________ Libraries mailing list [email protected] https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/libraries
