be continuing to engage in Wikipedia work at the university and in Edmonton after her WIR term concludes.
Recommendations and Questions to Consider
After our interviews and conversations, we found that there were a few themes that emerged when the WIR positions were set up. We reframed these as questions to pose when thinking about how to engage in a successful WIR program at a library and o er recommendations.
What’s Happening at the Institution Already?
Coming into the residency, each of our case studies had varying levels of institutional Wikipedia engagement. We each knew anecdotally of some pockets of activity either in the university where professors are engaging library resources for a Wikipedia article writing assignment, library space being used for edit-a-thons, or library staff regularly editing as a part of their job, but there was no centralized activity on any of the campuses. None of us felt it necessary to have regular Wikimedia contribution activity on campus in order to justify the WIR, but the University of Toronto Libraries used the existing vibrancy of programming as a part of their pitch. At the University of Alberta Library, Severson was new to her role and used the WIR as a means of learning more about what was happening on campus and how the library could better support those activities with existing services.
Who Should Be Hired into the Role?
When writing a WIR position description, it’s good to think about the ideal candidate for the specific institution. For example, some institutions are looking to hire someone who can bring Wikimedia expertise. At Concordia, Kloda was not a Wikipedia editor and wanted to hire someone with experience in the Wikimedia ecosystem, so they could direct the position projects. Their library already had a successful Researcher-in-Residence program, so a residency model with someone from outside coming in was familiar to the library.
