Page:Wikipedia and Academic Libraries.djvu/165

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Cowles, Glusker,Gogan, Lillich, Sheppard, Vitale, Waltman, Wilson, and Wilson

To reach a broader audience, training opportunities were expanded to include a four-week asynchronous online course entitled Wikipedia + Libraries: NNLM (https://nnlm.gov/wikipedia-libraries-nnlm), which ran concurrently with the campaign and was taught by members of the WWG. Tailored to a librarian audience, the course introduced over thirty participants to the importance of Wikipedia’s health and medical information, the basics of Wikipedia editing, and suggestions for incorporating Wikipedia into their library’s programming and instruction. In total, between the virtual event, Wikipedia + Libraries students, and other participants, eighty-six editors edited seventy-seven Wikipedia articles for the fall 2020 campaign.

Academic Libraries as Partners

Through the six #CiteNLM campaigns to date, academic librarians and libraries have been vital partners in NNLM’s work to improve health information on Wikipedia. Academic libraries are well-situated to do this work since they tend to have existing information or health literacy programming that #CiteNLM can be used alongside; experience with instruction; topical expertise; and a connection with academic infrastructure that places value on dissemination of high-quality health information and research. Examining academic libraries’ motivations for participating in #CiteNLM and their experiences hosting campaign-a liated editing events provides valuable insight into the campaigns’ successes and challenges. ese events are also informative case studies for incorporation of Wikipedia editing into academic library programming and instruction. rough the spring 2020 #CiteNLM campaign, seven academic libraries hosted a liated editing events, and four of these responded to a survey about their experiences. e host libraries were Indiana University Ruth Lilly Medical Library, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Freel Library, Radford University McConnell Library, University of California, Los Angeles Biomedical Library (UCLA), University of Maryland, Baltimore Health Sciences and Human Services Library (UMB), University