as an important asset. “The librarians we work with encourage us to express our creativity freely because they create a space where our ideas are heard and often implemented, and they also give us the opportunity to lead different parts and roles of the events” (E. Martinez-Flores, personal communication, August 1, 2020). While only one peer coach explicitly mentioned being bilingual as an added skill, the monolingual library faculty and staff would like to emphasize how meaningful it is to work with a largely bilingual team because 79 percent of people in the United States only speak English (U.S. Census Bureau, 2015).
Peer coaches generally felt this work improved their skills in event planning, leadership, technology, and research. Almost every peer coach described increased confidence in teaching, specifically discussing different sources, understanding open access, and utilizing Wikipedia in the research process. “We have done a lot of teaching in this job, but the Wikipedia events have helped me grow as a teacher . . . I really do have more to o er . . . than I ever thought” (E. Martinez-Flores, personal communication, July 28, 2020). ey also felt that Wikipedia edit-a-thon instruction is more personal than their other efforts in the classroom and appreciated the opportunity to work one-on-one with other students. “Teaching should be a dialogue, not a monologue” (P. Gutierrez, personal communication, July 17, 2020).
Wikipedia: The Resource and the Community
Although all the peer coaches had experiences as Wikipedia readers, they felt their involvement taught them many things about the website. First, they developed a better understanding of Wikipedia as an important resource. Not only is it a good place to start researching almost any topic, it is also one of the first open-access information sources they have used as university students. “[This event] has expanded my appreciation of information that is offered without a pay wall . . . there can be factual and constructive information . . . free of charge” (V. Passos, personal communication, July 17, 2020). Six out of seven peer coaches discovered the lack of representation on Wikipedia
