**Apologies for cross posting**

Please disseminate to interested parties.


With less than a week to go until Repository Fringe 2016 takes place in 
Edinburgh on 1st & 2nd August 2016, registrations are filling up fast and we 
have a packed programme which will hopefully pique your interest!


Find out more about some of our programme items below – the full 
programme<http://rfringe16.blogs.edina.ac.uk/programme/> is available online.

Register 
now!<http://www.epay.ed.ac.uk/browse/extra_info.asp?compid=1&modid=2&deptid=80&catid=96&prodid=2224>


<http://www.epay.ed.ac.uk/browse/extra_info.asp?compid=1&modid=2&deptid=80&catid=96&prodid=2224>

Registration for Repo Fringe closes on Thursday 28th July 2016 so please book 
soon to be assured of your place.
<http://www.epay.ed.ac.uk/browse/extra_info.asp?compid=1&modid=2&deptid=80&catid=96&prodid=2224>


Programme Hot Pick - Wikidata & Wikisource Showcase

Our Tuesday programme features a mammoth Wikidata & Wikisource Showcase hosted 
by Histropedia’s Navino Evans, the Bodleian Library’s Wikimedian in Residence, 
Martin Poulter, and the University of Edinburgh’s Wikimedian in Residence, Ewan 
McAndrew.

More information about the 
Showcase<http://rfringe16.blogs.edina.ac.uk/wikidata-wikisource-showcase/> and 
what the sessions will cover which is available online now and is summarised 
here:

10am-11.05am Wikisource showcase - “It’s not what you do, it’s what it does to 
you.”



Libraries are under threat as never before with an estimated 450 closures in 
the last six years (Flood, 2016).

Safeguarding digital heritage and ‘the democracy of reading’ (Smith in Shaffi, 
2015) therefore has never been more important.



In this first session of our three showcase events for Repository Fringe 2016, 
we will introduce you to Wikisource: Wikimedia’s free library of 
openly-licensed source texts.



“Libraries are about freedom. Freedom to read, freedom of ideas, freedom of 
communication. They are about education (which is not a process that finishes 
the day we leave school or university), about entertainment, about making safe 
spaces, and about access to information.” (Neil Gaiman, 2013)



In this session we will explain:

·       Why Wikisource is receiving increased attention & affection.

·       How it adds value to the collections of libraries & archives.

·       The crucial role Wikisource plays in raising the visibility, 
accessibility & appreciation of out-of-copyright texts & their authors.

·       How Wikisource links to its sister projects: Wikipedia, Wikicommons and 
Wikidata.



“Quotations or images from centuries ago can still touch or inspire, and as 
readers share this reaction online, the interested audience grows. The 
Wikimedia projects make it easy for people to enjoy and share out-of-copyright 
text, creating and satisfying a modern curiosity about past authors.”(Poulter, 
2015)



What will the session include?

·       An introduction to what Wikisource is and how you can engage with it.

·       A practical activity where you will learn how to navigate Wikisource 
and proofread a page of text.

·       An introduction to how Wikisource links with Wikipedia (the free 
encyclopaedia), Wikicommons (the free media repository) & Wikidata (the free 
repository of structured data).

·       Examples demonstrating how texts can be uploaded, transcribed and 
proofread.

·       Examples demonstrating how everyone - libraries & archives in 
particular - can involve people around the world in having authentic contact 
with the past through Wikisource.



Like every Wikimedia project, Wikisource is free to use by absolutely anyone so 
people of all disciplines and walks of life are encouraged to attend this 
session. Basic knowledge of using the internet will be needed to get involved 
in the practical activity, but there are no other pre-requisites.

Anyone interested in libraries, archives & open knowledge repositories of all 
kinds should come away excited about the possibilities Wikisource, and its 
sister projects, offer!



What should I bring?

Bring a laptop if possible as this will be needed when we learn to navigate our 
way around Wikisource and for the practical demonstration of proofreading a 
page of Wikisource text. In addition, please have a think if there are 
copyright-free source texts you would like to see transcribed to Wikisource.

It would also be a huge help if you could create an 
account<https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=Wikidata%3AMain+Page>
 on Wikisource before arriving (if you have ever edited Wikipedia before, you 
can use the same login details)



References

Flood, Alison (2016). "Joanna Trollope: 'UK cannot afford to close one single 
public 
library'"<http://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/jan/13/joanna-trollope-uk-not-afford-close-one-single-public-library>.
 the Guardian.

Shaffi, Sarah (2015)."Smith warns library closures threat to 'democracy of 
reading' | The 
Bookseller"<http://www.thebookseller.com/news/smith-warns-closure-libraries-threat-democracy-reading-309319>.
 www.thebookseller.com.

Gaiman, Neil (2013). "Neil Gaiman: Why our future depends on libraries, reading 
and 
daydreaming"<http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/oct/15/neil-gaiman-future-libraries-reading-daydreaming>.
 the Guardian.

Poulter, Martin (2015)."The Shiver: communion with the past in a digital age | 
Wikimedia UK 
Blog"<https://blog.wikimedia.org.uk/2016/04/the-shiver-communion-with-the-past-in-a-digital-age/>.
 blog.wikimedia.org.uk.

11.30am-12.45am Wikidata showcase – The Possities are endless

Wikidata - “the source for open structured data on the web and for facts within 
Wikipedia.” (Wallis, 2014)



Wikidata is a free and open data repository of the world’s knowledge. Wikidata 
differs from its sister project Wikipedia in that it is completely language 
independent and its structured data can be read and edited by both humans and 
machines alike. Using Wikidata, information on Wikipedia can be queried & 
visualised as never before. This alone has generated enormous excitement in its 
users but the sheer versatility of how this data can be used is only just 
beginning to be understood & explored.



Did You Know: The answers provided by Google’s ‘Knowledge Graph’ panels were 
powered by its own structured data repository, Freebase, until Google decided 
to wind down Freebase in 2015 in favour of migrating their data to Wikidata & 
supporting Wikidata instead.

In this session we will explain why Wikidata is so special, why its users are 
so excited by the possibilities it offers, why it may overtake Wikipedia in 
years to come as the project to watch and how it is quietly on course to change 
the world.



What will the session include?

·       A practical activity where you will learn the ‘nuts & bolts’ of how to 
use and edit Wikidata, and help shape the future of open knowledge!

·       An introduction to methods for accessing the data in Wikidata. Wikidata 
is completely free to use in every imaginable way; from educational projects to 
full-scale commercial software applications – what will you do with it?

·       A showcase selection of the most exciting applications and 
visualisations that have already been built on Wikidata.



Who should attend?

Absolutely anyone can use Wikidata for something, so people of all disciplines 
and walks of life are encouraged to attend this session. Basic knowledge of 
using the internet will be needed to get involved in the practical activity, 
but there are no other pre-requisites.

Anyone interested in open knowledge, academic research, application development 
or data visualisation should come away buzzing with exciting new ideas!



What should I bring?

Bring a laptop if possible as this will be needed when we learn to use and edit 
Wikidata.

It would also be a huge help if you could create an 
account<https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=Wikidata%3AMain+Page>
 on Wikidata before the arriving (if you have ever edited Wikipedia before, you 
can use the same login details)



References

Wallis, Richard (2014). "Google Sunsets Freebase – Good News For Wikidata? – 
Data 
Liberate"<http://dataliberate.com/2014/12/17/google-sunsets-freebase-good-news-for-wikidata/#.Vzx_sEmoV04.twitter>.



2.15pm-3pm Wikidata Advanced Tools workshop

This session will be a practical introduction to using some of the most 
powerful tools built around Wikidata.

You will learn how to:

·       Query Wikidata using their SPARQL endpoint

·       Create visualisations from live data, such as interactive maps, 
timelines, and bubble charts.

·       Use editing tools that allow you to make automated Wikidata edits based 
on SPARQL queries, Wikipedia categories, or tables in a spreadsheet.



Who should attend?

Absolutely anyone can use Wikidata for something, so people of all disciplines 
and walks of life are encouraged to attend this session. Basic knowledge of 
using the internet will be needed to get involved in the practical activity, 
but there are no other pre-requisites.


Anyone interested in open knowledge, academic research, application development 
or data visualisation should come away buzzing with exciting new ideas!


Registration for Repo Fringe closes on Thursday 28th July 2016 so please book 
soon to be assured of your 
place.<http://www.epay.ed.ac.uk/browse/extra_info.asp?compid=1&modid=2&deptid=80&catid=96&prodid=2224>


Kind regards


Ewan McAndrew


Wikimedian in Residence

Tel: 07719 330076
Email: ewan.mcand...@ed.ac.uk
Working hours are 2.5 days per week, usually Monday, Tuesday & Thursday.
Wikipedia Project Page for the residency: 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:University_of_Edinburgh

The University of Edinburgh, Learning, Teaching & Web Services, Hugh Robson 
Building, 15 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9XD.
www.ed.ac.uk

The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in
Scotland, with registration number SC005336.
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